Two Great Minds Of Judaism

Mehmet Okonsar

Discography by Mehmet Okonsar

J.S. Bach "Die Kunst der Fuge"

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Illiterate Until Forty And Then Becoming One Of Judaism's Greatest Scholars Rabbi Akiba

The life of one of the first scholars of the Rabbinical literature Rabbi Akiba

J.S. Bach "Musikalische Opfer"

F. Liszt: "modern" works

J.S. Bach "Well-tempered Clavier"

Recital: "Live at Salt Lake City"

J.S. Bach The Goldberg Variations

Piano Solo Improvisations: "Shadowy Arcade"

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A poor, semi-literate shepherd, Rabbi Akiba elevated to be among Judaism's finest scholars.

He developed the annotative approach to the Mishneh, connecting up each traditional practice with a basis within the spiritual texts, and systematized the knowledge that later gave birth to the Mishneh.

He's most likely the very best figures within the Talmud. Aging in meager conditions, he never attended school and was illiterate until forty years old. But he began on a new path and attended early schooling alongside his boy, then moved onto grade school. It had been apparent he had an aptitude for study, so he advanced to be able to connect with the rabbinical academy. Not just was he ordained, but he was elevated being probably the most illustrious leaders of his generation.

Rabbi Akiba has been implied in the rebellion against Rome: Bar Kokhba. He thought the Moshiach (Messiah-Deliverer) was Bar Kokhba, though another rabbis freely made fun of him for that belief; recorded in the Talmud is one rabbi saying "Akiba, grass will grow in your face but nevertheless the boy of David won't came."

Subjected to violent persecution he had to leave his native land. Rabbi Akiba came over bare no-man's lands and deserts. His whole equipage composed of a candle-light, used through the evening to be capable of studying rules and a cock, which gave him the measure of passing time. When the rebellion Bar Kokhba break down, Rabbi Akiba was grabbed by the Roman government tortured for killing.

Numerous tales are passed down about Akiba. But regardless of the wealthy mass of writings by rabbinical sources, only an incomplete portrait may be drafted about the man who marked the way that rabbinical Judaism for virtually two millennium followed.

A trusted tradition narrates that Akiba, at forty, when he was the father of a numerous family, attended with assiduity the Torah learning academy of Lod, his native town, presided over by Eliezer ben Hyrkanus.

Hyrkanus was neighbor to Akiba's father Ernest. The very fact Eliezer being his foremost teacher, as well as the only person whom Akiba designated later "rabbi," may be worth addressing in order to settle a more precise date of Akiba's birth.

It's known that in 95-96 (BCE) Akiba had already accomplished great prominence and, further, he studied for thirteen years before to be a teacher. Thus the start of his many years of study would fall about 75-80.

Sooner than this, Yochanan ben Zakai was living, and Eliezer, being his pupil, may have been held of no authority in Yochanan's lifetime. Consequently, after we accept the tradition that Akiba was 40 when beginning his studies, he must be born about 40-50 BCE.

Besides Eliezer, Akiba had other instructors, mainly Nahum Ant Gamzu and Joshua ben Hananiah. He was on equal footing with Rabbi Gamaliel II, whom he later met. Within a certain sense, Tarphon was considered among Akiba's masters, nonetheless the pupil outranked his teacher, and Tarphon elevated being among Akiba's finest followers.

Akiba most likely remained in Lod as long as Eliezer dwelt there, and moved his unique school to Bene Berak, five miles (Roman) from Jaffa. Akiba also were living for a while at Ziphron, the current Zafran, near Hamath.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai was the very best disciples of Rabbi Akiba. He did not die with the rest of his fellow students. He will be an excellent and saintly scholar who spent years of his existence together with his boy escaping from the Romans. He is the writer of the Zohar by which most of the techniques in the Torah are revealed.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai died on Lab B'Omer, the thirty-third day's of the counting within the Omer. His tomb is at Meron. On that particular day, thousands of Jews turn up at Meron to pray while focusing and wishing to be inspired by Rabbi Shimon's desire for the Torah, G-d, as well as his love of the fellow Jews.

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Mehmet Okonsar is a pianist-composer-conductor and musicologist. Besides his international concert carrier he is a prolific writer. Founder of the first classical music-musicology dedicated blog-site: "inventor-musicae" as well as the first classical-music video portal: "classical videos".

Discography by Mehmet Okonsar

J.S. Bach "Die Kunst der Fuge"

All CD's available at amazon.com and (partly) at cdbaby.com

Short Introduction To The Life And Works Of Maimonides (Rambam)

Brief overview on the life and works of may be the greatest Jewish thinkers of all times: Rabbi Moshe ben Maimun, also known as Rambam.

J.S. Bach "Musikalische Opfer"

F. Liszt: "modern" works

J.S. Bach "Well-tempered Clavier"

Recital: "Live at Salt Lake City"

J.S. Bach The Goldberg Variations

Piano Solo Improvisations: "Shadowy Arcade"

All CD's can be auditioned entirely and freely at their respective pages. Click on the images.

Maimonides (1135-1204) (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimun, also called Rambam) is perhaps the premier philosopher and theologian of Jewish history.

Maimonides was created in 1135 in Cordoba, The country then underneath the Muslim rule. Maimonides analyzed Torah under his father Maimon.

The Almohades mastered Cordoba in 1148, and offered the Jewish community the option of conversion to Islam, dying, or exile.

Maimonides's family, together with most of the Jews, opted for the exile.

During the upcoming ten years they relocated in and around southern country, they relocated in Fez eventually. While there, Maimonides authored his first significant philosophical work: the "Treatise on the skill of Logic" and started on his "Commentary about the Mishneh".

Among the most influential thinkers, Muslim, Jewish or Christian from the middle-age range, with theology but additionally in medicine and law, the environmental profundity of his work, lengthy overlooked, is just starting to be understood.

Maimonides, distinctively in Jewish thought, challenges the primacy of humanity inside the order of creation, claims that there's complete equivalence between human and animal feelings, and thinks that creation in general may be the only dimension to be that has intrinsic value.

Maimonides was the first to index the different Halachic Midrashim, both Talmuds the whole body from the Dental Law, some Kabbalistic texts, later works written through the Geonim and compile all of them inside a logical and systematic fashion.

The laws and regulations of Sabbath, for instance, are collected within the third amount of Mishneh Torah (that is entitled "Occasions" (Zmanim) that contains all laws and regulations relating to Sabbath and holidays) in thirty sections, each split into small sub-sections.

Point about this comes from Maimonides being heavily affected through the work of Aristotle. Maimonides carefully views the Aristotelian doctrine from the "mean" as helpful tips for proper living. He generally concurs with Aristotle the state of health (so the health from the soul) requires staying away from excesses of both kinds.

The agreement, however, is restricted. Whereas Aristotle thought that the measured quantity of control by our passions is a component of just living well, Maimonides disagree with any practical views that will compromise the centrality from the intellect.

Many people, he thought, will be governed by their feelings, as well as for them the doctrine from the "mean" and also the influence of exterior controls is going to be necessary. Yet individuals who are able to correctly pursue the perfection of the souls through philosophy won't be controlled whatsoever by their passions.

His writings are unhesitatingly rationalist in spirit, in all of them he tries to provide rational grounds for traditional Jewish law as well as his picture of philosophy and rational quest as constitutive regarding the perfection of the soul.

His influence continues to be huge, both about the Jewish and Christian traditions varying from Aquinas to Spinoza. Achieving a synthesis between thought and reason, Hebraism and Hellenism, Maimonides laid the reason for remarkable contribution that Jews designed to Western literature, music, science, technology, law, politics, cinema, academia, commerce, finance, medicine and art.

Maimonides also wrote "Letter of Martyrdom": to Jews of Yemen encouraging them within their difficult plight, the "Perplexed (ones) Guide": "Moreh Nevuchim"; with a basic focus on Jewish philosophy for individuals who've arrived at perfection in understanding and observance from the Torah similarly, and learned the sciences and philosophy alternatively, and find it hard to resolve the seeming conflicts together, along with other letters (collected together in "Pe'er Hador", released today in one volume. Maimonides also authored an "Oath for Doctors", as well as other medical texts are credited to him.

Maimonides frequently describes The Spanish language, French, and Palestinian rabbinic government bodies, although he doesn't title them, nor could it be recognized to whom precisely he refers.

He also came from non-Jewish sources, along with a great a part of his researches about the calendar was based on Greek ideas and reckonings. As these rules rested upon seem argument, he believed that it made no difference whether a writer would be a prophet or perhaps a "Gentile".

With a similar spirit he endorsed concepts of Aristotelian Greek philosophy within the initial book from the "Mishneh Torah", yet not any authority of these teachings was found in Talmudic or Midrashic literature.

Maimonides, as great because he was, wasn't recognized by all Jews. Certainly, not by all rabbis. Some considered him to become about the very fringe of heresy, due to his rationalistic approach and interpretation of major facets of Jewish religion.

Maimonides can also be accountable for several important theological works. He developed the "13 Concepts of Belief", probably the most broadly recognized listing of Jewish values.

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