ADAM
(Heb.
city on the eastern bank of the Jordan River mentioned in Joshua 3:16 as the place where the Jordan ceased flowing at the time of the Israelite crossing. It also appears in the inscriptions of Pharaoh Shishak (10th century B.c.E.). King Solomon’s foundries were in the vicinity of Adam (1 Kings 7:46; 11 Chron. 4:17). The place is perhaps also mentioned in Hosea 6:7 and Psalms 68:19, 78:60, and 83:11 as an ancient site of worship.
The ford that was situated during ancient times at Adam is marked on the *Madaba Map and is still found at a place the Arabs call Damiyeh on the road from Shechem to Gilead and Moab. It is south of the confluence of the Jabbok and the Jordan on the one side and north of the mouth of Wadi Fariah on the other. On the small Tell el-Damiyeh near the ford, potsherds from the Canaanite and Israelite periods (Late Bronze to Iron Age 1-11) as well as from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been found.
ADAM
Jewish monthly literary journal in the Romanian language. The first number of Adam was published in Bucharest on April 15, 1929. The journal was subsequently published for 12 years, until July 1940, in book form. Its founder and director was the writer and publicist I. *Ludo (Isac Iacovitz). He edited the review until 1936, when he left Romania temporarily and sold it to Miron Grindea and Idov Cohn. They continued publication until their emigration from Romania, Miron Grindea to England (where he published a new review under the same name in London in English) and Idov Cohn (Cohen) to Palestine. Adam was a successful publication, reflecting the personality of its editor, Ludo, who wrote most of the articles.
He succeeded in attracting various contributors, intellectuals with various outlooks, among them Felix *Aderca, Ury *Bena-dor, F. Brunea-Fox, Ion Calugaru, Avraham *Feller, Benjamin Fundoianu, Jacob Gropper, Rabbi M.A. Halevy, Michael *Lan-dau, Theodor Loewenstein, Marius *Mircu, Chief Rabbi Jacob Niemirower, Eugen *Relgis, and A.L. *Zissu. Some of them (as well as others) served their literary apprenticeship at Adam. It was a review that refused to surrender to the ghetto mentality and also attracted non-Jewish contributors, among whom the best known were Tudor Arghezi, Gala Galaction, Eugen Lovinescu, and N.D. Cocea. Adam also featured many illustrations, including work by Victor *Brauner, Marcel *Jancu, M.H. *Maxy, Jules *Perachim, and Reuven *Rubin. Adam also engaged in polemics. Its basic idea was that Jewish-Romanian writers, before they could be Romanian writers, must be Jewish writers. In 1939, Adam published a yearbook on the occasion of its tenth anniversary.
ADAM, LAJOS
(Louis; 1879-1946), Hungarian physician. His appointment in 1927 as assistant professor at the University of Budapest aroused violent opposition in antisemitic circles, but in 1930 he was appointed full professor and director of the surgical clinic. In 1946 he became Rector Magnificus. His contribution to the technique of local anesthesia was of great importance. Among other books he wrote A heli erzestelenites keMzikoenyve ("The Handbook of Local Anesthesia").
ADAM, OTHER BOOKS OF
Apocryphal books which contain Christian reworkings of the Jewish Adam legend, some of which include valuable ancient traditions. These books are in addition to the Life of Adam and Eve (see Book of the Life of *Adam and Eve). In early lists several works, presumably in Greek, are mentioned. The most prominent of these are Apocalypse, Penitence, Testament, and Life. The Apocalypse, quoted in Epistle of Barnabas 2:10, deals with Adam’s penitence. A horarium and some other texts, also connected with repentance and cited by Georgius Cedrenus (Historiarum compendium 1:18), appear in a second Greek form, as well as in Syriac (R. Graffin (ed.), Patrologia Syriaca, 2, pt. 1 (1907), 1319-37), where they are quoted as being from the Testament. This Syriac version mentions the Cave of Treasures, connecting it with various Eastern books. A long passage attributed to the Life of Adam is preserved by Georgius Syncellus (ed. Dundorff, p. 5ff.). This passage is related to material found in Jubilees 3:1-11. The Cave of Treasures, a Syriac work, also deals with the story of Adam. A central feature of this work is a cave of treasures, in which Adam lived and was buried, and from which he was taken into the Ark by Noah to be rebur-ied at Golgotha. The book also exists in Arabic (D.M. Gibson, Apocrypha Arabica (1901), Eng. and Arab.).
The Ethiopic Book of Adam and Eve is also a Christian composition, having much in common with the Cave of Treasures, including the burial tradition. Armenian books connected with the Adam story include The Death of Adam, History of Adams Expulsion from Paradise, History of Cain and Abel, Adams Sons, and Concerning the Good Tidings of Seth. Other unpublished Adam books also exist. These writings are certainly not Gnostic, as Preuschen maintained. They are early although it is impossible to give a precise date. There are Georgian translations of the Cave of Treasures, the Life, and other Adam books. There are also some texts in Arabic, including an Arabic version of the Ethiopic Adam book. Epiphanius (Panarion 26) quotes a Gnostic composition, and a Gnostic Coptic Adam Apocalypse is found among the Nag Hammadi texts.
ADAM AND EVE, BOOK OF THE LIFE OF
Apocryphal work dealing with Adam’s life and death. It has been preserved in Greek, Latin, and Slavonic versions differing considerably from one another. General considerations point to composition in Palestine between 100 B.c.E. and 200 c.E.
The Greek version, known erroneously as the Apocalypsis Moysis, begins with the expulsion from Paradise, and relates the story of the death of Abel, the birth of Seth, Adam’s illness, and the journey of Eve and Seth to Paradise in search of oil from the tree of life to ease Adam’s suffering. Adam dies and he is buried in the third heaven by the angels. Six days later Eve dies and Seth is instructed regarding burial and mourning.
The Latin version is known as the Vita Adae et Evae. Its main part roughly corresponds to the Greek text, but there are some omissions and additions. The most extensive and important addition precedes the material found in the Greek version. It tells how Adam and Eve, finding life outside Paradise difficult, decide to entreat God for nourishment and propose to do penance by standing in water; Eve in the Tigris for 37 days and Adam in the Jordan for 40. By a trick, the Devil induces Eve to end her penance before the designated time.
The Slavonic version follows the Greek closely, although it shortens some passages. It also includes the main addition of the Latin in a different form and not at the beginning of the book, but as a part of Eve’s account of the Fall. According to the Slavonic version, Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, beg God for nourishment and are given the seventh part of Paradise. Adam begins plowing, but the Devil prevents him from continuing until Adam acknowledges his lordship over Adam and the earth. To trick the Devil, Adam writes: "I and my children belong to whoever is Lord of the earth." There follows the story of the penance of Adam and Eve, as found in the Latin, but with the significant difference that Eve withstands the Devil’s blandishments and completes her penance. The rest of the addition is missing.
The religious spirit expressed in the Book of Adam and Eve is somber and somewhat pessimistic. It illuminates many minor points of theological interest, but presents no clear and central doctrine. Only the resurrection and final judgment are taught repeatedly and emphatically. Angels are represented as important, but there is no speculation about them and none about the End of Days. The simpler Greek version, which is mildly dualistic, also teaches a distinction of body and soul. There is no doctrine of original sin in the Christian (or Qumranic) sense. Adam is considered perfect; Eve is morally weak, but not wicked. She loves and obeys Adam and repeatedly deplores her own shortcomings. There is also a mild halakhic interest in the matter of burial. The additional material contained in the Latin version stresses Eve’s weakness and the wickedness of the Devil, and actually teaches that there was a second temptation, which Adam withstood. This part is more speculative, and is concerned with man’s struggle against the Devil and with the origin of evil. The penance by water shows a marked tendency toward asceticism, which might be a modification of an earlier tendency, emphasizing the importance of purity.
The work cannot be assigned to any known or definable sector or movement in Judaism. There are similarities both with apocalyptic writing (Enoch, Jubilees) and with the rabbinic aggadah, but none of these is sufficiently close or precise to indicate identity of teaching. The simpler Greek version is closer to the mainstream of Judaism. The story of Adam and Eve’s penance and second temptation displays a unique development of ancient Jewish thought. A book of Adam (Sifra de-Adam ha-Rishon) is mentioned in Bava Mezia 85b; but this work must have been different from the Book of Adam and Eve.
ADAM BA’AL SHEM
A legendary figure about whom various tales have been collected in small Yiddish pamphlets published in Prague and in Amsterdam in the 17th century. They relate the miracles performed before Emperor Maximilian 11 by a kabbalist, whose historical existence has not been verified. According to these tales, Adam Ba’al Shem was born and was buried in Bingen near Worms; however his permanent place of residence was Prague. The stories about him were popular and used by the compiler of Shivhei ha-Besht (Berdichev, 1815) who transformed Adam Ba’al Shem into an esoteric kabbal-ist in Poland who died close to the birth or in the childhood of *Israel b. Eliezer Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of H asidism. H asidic legend attributed to him writings on the mystery of Kabbalah which he commanded his son to give to Israel Ba’al Shem Tov. Apparently, the earlier figure of a German Jewish folktale (Adam Ba’al Shem) was combined in hasidic legend with that of the Shabbatean prophet Heshel Z oref, who died in Cracow around the time of Israel Ba’al Shem Tov’s birth. Heshel’s work, Sefer ha-Zoref, on the mysteries of Shabbatean Kabbalah, undoubtedly reached the Ba’al Shem Tov who ordered them to be copied by his disciple Shabbetai of Rasch-kow. Copies of the copy were preserved in the courts of several zaddikim. The Hasidim were not aware of the Shabbatean character of these works, but several legends spread about their contents. The author of Shivh ei ha-Besht or the creators of the legends about the Ba’al Shem Tov modified the character of these writings and attributed them to Adam Ba’al Shem. An unfounded assumption seeks to identify Adam Ba’al Shem with a Russian Christian of German origin, called Adam Zer-neikov, who supposedly had contact with the father of Israel Ba’al Shem Tov.
ADAMIT
(Heb.
kibbutz in northern Israel, on the Lebanese border. Adamit, affiliated with Kibbutz Am (Ha-Shomer ha-Z a’ir), was founded in 1958, following completion of a serpentine road to secure the access to its small mountain plateau. Most of the settlers were Israel-born and the economy was based on orchards, vineyards, and livestock. In 2004 its population was 106. The name "Adamit" derives from the Arabic "Idmith", but is also reminiscent of the biblical town of Adami (Josh. 19:33), assumed to have been located in the vicinity.
ADAM KADMON
(Primordial Man), kabbalistic concept. The Gnostics inferred from the verse "Let us make man in our image" (Gen. 1:26) that the physical Adam was created in the image of a spiritual entity also called Adam. The early *Kab-balah speaks of adam elyon ("supreme man"; in the Zohar the corresponding Aramaic is adam di-l’ela or adam ilaah). The term sometimes represents the totality of the Divine emanation in the ten *Sefirot ("spheres") and sometimes in a single Sefirah such as Keter ("crown"), Hokhmah ("wisdom"), or Tife-ret ("beauty"). The term "Adam Kadmon" is first found in Sod Yediat ha-Meziut, an early 13th-century kabbalistic treatise. In the Tikkunei Zohar, the Divine Wisdom is called Adam ha-Gadol ("The Great Man"). The spiritual man is hinted at in the verse "a likeness as the appearance of a man" (Ezek. 1:26) which the prophet Ezekiel saw in the vision of the divine chariot. The letters of the Tetragrammaton (see Names of *God) when spelled out in full have the numerical value of 45, as do the letters of the word Adam. In this fact support was found for the revelation of God in the form of a spiritual man (Midrash Ruth Neelam in the Zohar). In contrast to the First Man Adam, this spiritual man is called in the Zohar proper the adam kadmaah ilaah ("primordial supreme man"), and in Tik-kunei Zohar he is called Adam Kadmon ("primordial man") or Adam Kadmon le-khol ha-kedumim ("prototype of primordial man"). In the Kabbalah of Isaac *Luria, great importance and new significance is given to Adam Kadmon. There Adam Kadmon signifies the worlds of light which, after the retraction of the light of *Ein-Sof ("The Infinite"), emanated into primeval space. This Adam Kadmon is the most sublime manifestation of the Deity that is to some extent accessible to human meditation. It ranks higher in this system than all four worlds: Azilut ("emanation"), Beriah ("creation"), Yezirah ("formation"), and Asiyyah ("making"). The portrayal of this Adam Kadmon and his mysteries, and in particular the description of the lights which flow from his ears, mouth, nose, and eyes plays an important role in Hayyim *Vital’s Ez Hayyim and in other kabbalistic works of the Lurianic school. Through this theory the mystical anthropomorphism of the school becomes crystallized. This anthropomorphic figure recurs in all the stages and in all the worlds. Consequently there is an adam de-ve-riah ("man of creation"), adam di-yzirah ("man of formation"), and an adam de-asiyyah ("man of making"). In contrast to Adam Kadmon, who is from the holy emanation, stands Satan, from the world of iniquity. In the Tikkunei Zohar, and subsequently in the Lurianic Kabbalah, Satan is called adam beliyyaal ("evil man"). In the Lurianic Kabbalah, there is no relationship between Adam Kadmon, which is the light which transcends all other lights, and the *Messiah. Such a connection was made only in the system of the extreme Shabbateans, who believed in the divinity of the Messiah and regarded *Shabbetai Z evi as the incarnation of Adam Kadmon. (He figures as such in a number of poems of the sect of the *Doenmeh.)
ADAMS, ARLIN MARVIN
(1921- ), U.S. jurist, public servant, and legal educator. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Adams worked for a produce distributor during the Depression to pay for college at Temple University. When he graduated first in his class in 1941, the chair of the political science department took him by trolley to the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a full scholarship for the young man by declaring to the law school registrar: "He is the best that we’ve ever had."
A day after Pearl Harbor, Adams volunteered for the Navy, received a commission, and in 1942 was sent to the north Pacific. After the war, he resumed his studies at Penn, where he served as editor-in-chief of the law review and graduated second in his class in 1947. He completed a clerkship with Horace Stern, probably Pennsylvania’s greatest chief justice, and then joined Philadelphia’s premier law firm, Schnader, Harrison, Segal and Lewis. Adams earned a reputation as a brilliant, yet humble attorney, and after only three years he became the youngest associate in the firm’s history to make partner. At this time, he also earned an M.A. in economics from Temple and Penn.
In 1963, Adams joined Governor William Scranton’s cabinet. As Pennsylvania’s secretary of public welfare (1963-66), he instituted a medical program for indigents that anticipated Medicaid and developed educational training for poor children that became the prototype for the federal Head Start program. Scranton described Adams as "the ablest and most effective secretary of welfare that this Commonwealth has ever known."
When President Nixon nominated Adams for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Senate unanimously approved the selection without holding any hearings. Adams served 18 years on the court (1969-87), earning the highest praise and ensuring himself a place alongside scholar-judges such as Learned Hand and Benjamin *Cardozo. As with Hand, appointment to the United States Supreme Court eluded Adams, although he was three times on the short list for selection to the High Court. While Adams wrote landmark opinions in several areas, his most enduring legacy came in decisions involving the First Amendment religion clauses. His erudite, careful opinions possessed a Burkian quality, striking a balance between the nation’s commitment to institutional separation between church and state and recognition of a vital role for religion in public life. In a concurring opinion in Malnak v. Yogi (1979), Adams led the way in defining "religion" for constitutional purposes, fashioning a three-part test that widely influenced courts in America and in other nations.
In 1987, the indefatigable Adams returned to the Schnader firm, where he continued to accept major public duties, most notably as independent counsel (1990-95) to investigate irregularities in President Reagan’s Department of Housing and Urban Development and as trustee in the New Era proceedings (1995), then the largest non-profit bankruptcy case in U.S. history. Adams achieved unparalleled results in both cases, securing 16 criminal convictions or guilty pleas in the hud scandal and obtaining a collection rate of over 90 percent in New Era, thereby saving numerous charities from financial ruin.
Throughout his life, Adams faithfully served academia, the community, and his religion. He held positions as chairman of Penn Law School’s Board of Overseers (1985-92); president of the American Philosophical Society (1993-96), founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin; and president of Knes-eth Israel, one of Philadelphia’s oldest synagogues. For almost three decades, Adams taught a Freedom of Religion seminar at Penn Law School. The course inspired Adams to write numerous articles and A Nation Dedicated to Religious Liberty, a groundbreaking book that resurrected William Penn as a champion of religious freedom and asserted that the core value of the religion clauses was religious liberty, not separation of church and state.
In 2004, Penn Law School recognized "a lifetime of dedicated public service" by endowing a chair in constitutional law in his name. When he received the esteemed Philadelphia Award in 1997, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said: "[Adams] has accomplished more in his lifetime than a hundred ordinary heroes combined. … He saw that the rule of law had to be administered with a spirit of compassion and a caring for those in need."
ADAMS, FRANKLIN PIERCE
(1881-1960), U.S. newspaper columnist known by his byline "F.P.A." and noted for his wit and erudition. Born in Chicago, he started his daily column "The Conning Tower" in the New York Tribune in 1914. It appeared successively in the World, the Herald-Tribune, and the Post.
A member of the illustrious Algonquin Round Table, Adams lunched every day in the 1920s and 1930s at a round table at New York City’s Algonquin Hotel with a group of some of the most brilliant writers of that period. They traded quips and critiques, many of them still repeated today. The group was formed at the suggestion of Dorothy *Parker, who was living in the Algonquin Hotel at the time. There was no formal membership, so people came and went, but the primary early members included Parker, Adams, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, George S. *Kaufman, Edna *Ferber, and Harpo *Marx. Others visited as well, including actors and entertainers such as Douglas Fairbanks, George *Gershwin, Irving *Berlin, Jascha *Heifitz, Moss *Hart, Budd *Schulberg, and Oscar *Hammerstein. But most of the Round Table members were critics. Outspoken and outrageous, they would exchange ideas and gossip, which found their way into Adams’ "Conning Tower" column in the Tribune the next day. Though society columns referred to them as the Algonquin Round Table, they called themselves the Vicious Circle. "By force of character," observed drama critic Brooks Atkinson, "they changed the nature of American comedy and established the tastes of a new period in the arts and theater."
Adams’ epigrams, verse, and parodies were reprinted extensively, and his weekly Diary of Our Own Samuel Pepys is regarded as historical source material. His appearances on Information Please on radio and TV (1939-52) had a large following.
°ADAMS, HANNAH
(1755-1831), considered the first American woman professional writer. Hannah Adams’ early interest in religion led to her Dictionary of All Religions and Religious Denominations (18174), a superficial compilation, but significant for the sympathetic tone of the article on Jews. In a later, more careful work, History of the Jews from the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Present Time (1812), she relied on contemporary historical and demographic information prepared by Jewish correspondents.
°ADAMS, JOHN
(1735-1826), first vice president (1789-97) and second president (1797-1801) of the United States. Adams, a champion of religious freedom and separation of church and state, was also a fervent admirer of the Old Testament in the tradition of his New England ancestors, and a Judeophile. In a letter written to Mordecai Manuel *Noah in 1818 he remarked: "I wish your nation may be admitted to all the privileges of citizens in every country of the world. This country has done much. I wish it may do more, and annul every narrow idea in religion, government and commerce." In the course of his lengthy correspondence with Thomas Jefferson during the last two decades of his life, Adams exhibited a steady interest in the religious philosophy of the Jews. He advocated that Hebraic studies become part of a classical education, and in a codicil to his will four years before his death he bequeathed land for the erection of a school in which he expressed the hope that Hebrew would be taught together with Latin and Greek. In a characteristic attack on Voltaire’s derogatory attitude toward the Bible and the Jewish people, he wrote to his friend Judge Francis Adrian van der Kemp in 1808: "How is it possible this old fellow should represent the Hebrews in such a contemptible light? They are the most glorious Nation that ever inhabited this Earth. The Romans and their Empire were but a Bauble in comparison of the Jews. They have given Religion to three quarters of the Globe and have influenced the affairs of Mankind more, and more happily than any other Nation, ancient or modern."
ADAMS, THEODORE L.
(1915-1984), U.S. rabbi. Adams was the epitome of the emerging modern Orthodox rabbis in America during much of the 20th century. Born in Bangor, Maine, he was the son of the town shohet. His pious immigrant parents sent their son to New York for a proper Jewish education. After studying at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, he went to Yeshiva College (B.A., 1936) and continued for semikhah at Yeshiva’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (1938). He occupied pulpits in Congregation Mt. Sinai in Jersey City and Congregation Ohab Zedek in Manhattan. In these he transformed the congregations from their old-style European immigrant milieu into modern Orthodoxy.
With a commanding presence dressed in self-confidence, he attracted the attention of many Jewish causes. His rabbinic colleagues elected him to the presidencies of the *Rabbinical Council of America and the interdenominational *Synagogue Council of America. In his later years, he earned a Ph.D. in Jewish education and joined the staff of *Touro College.
ADANI, DAVID BEN AMRAM
(13th or 14th century), Yemenite rabbi and scholar. An ancient source calls him "David b. Amram, the nagid from the city of Aden." It is not clear whether the title referred to David or his father. *Nagid, however, was a title borne by the leader of the Jewish community of Aden from the 12th century. Adani was a renowned scribe whose copies of the Pentateuch were much sought after because of their exactness. He is the compiler of the *Midrash bn-C^ndnl
ADANI, DAVID BEN YESHA HA-LEVI
(15th century), Yemenite commentator on Maimonides. His works include Arabic glossaries which explain difficult phrases in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah and a commentary on the Mishnah.
ADANI, MAHALAL
(originally Mahallal ben Shalom ben Jacob; 1883-1950), Yemenite scholar and industrialist. His wife, Hannah, was the daughter of Judah Moses, president of the Aden Jewish community (1922-24). Mahalal was a singular figure in the Aden Jewish community, being both learned and an entrepreneur. He obtained his general and Jewish education auto-didactically and set up factories for cigarettes and ice. Mahalal visited Erez Israel in 1895 and 1903, and after fulfilling a central role in strengthening the community’s connections with the Zionist movement and in establishing a modern educational system, he finally immigrated to Erez Israel in 1930. Adani continued his business activities in Erez Israel but devoted most of his time to the study of religious, philosophical, and historical texts. He left behind dozens of handwritten essays, including commentaries on most of the biblical books; an interpretation of Rabbi *Kook’s Orot ha-Kodesh; and a philosophical novel entitled Rayon Ru’ah. During his lifetime he published only two books: Or ha-Hozer (1940) on Ecclesiastes and Bein Aden ve-Teiman ("Between Aden and Yemen," 1947, 19882), which was edited by D. Sadan. From 1988 his books were brought to press by Y. Tobi. These include his commentaries: Job (1993); Song of Songs, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes (1997); Psalms, Pirkei Avot, Ruth, Lamentations, and Esther (1998); Ha-Nefesh ha-Hayyah and Ruah ha-Kodesh (2001); and Pirkei Mikra (2004).
ADANI, MIZRAHI SHALOM
(second half of 19th century), kabbalist and scholar. The appellation Mizrahi was given to Adani because of his eastern Yemenite origin. In manhood he immigrated to Jerusalem where he joined the kabbalistic circle of the bet ha-midrash Bet El. He wrote Sukkat Shalom ("Tabernacle of Peace," 1891), novellae on the tractate Bava Kamma, the introduction to which contains a description of his adventures on his way to Erez Israel; and Shelom Yerushalayim ("The Peace of Jerusalem," 1899), novellae on the Ez Hayyim of R. H ayyim *Vital, as well as some others on the kabbalistic writings of R. Shalom *Sharabi. He used a wealth of sources, the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, the halakhic authorities, and the responsa literature.
ADANI, SAADIAH BEN DAVID
(Said ibn Daud, known also as al-Yamani al-Rabbani; 15th century), talmudist. Adani lived in Damascus, Aleppo, and Safed. His works, written in Judeo-Arabic, deal with subjects studied in the Yemenite communities: Midrash, halakhah, and lunar intercalation. Najat al-Ghariqtn ("The Salvation of the Drowning") and Zafenat Pane’ah ("Deciphering Mysteries") are aggadic and halakhic commentaries on the Pentateuch and the Sabbath readings from the Prophets. At the request of students Saadiah wrote a commentary on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Adani used the form of catechism popular among the Jews of Yemen. He prepared an Arabic calendar entitled al-Jadwalavn which contains a philosophic poem. In his writings, he shows familiarity with the practices of Yemenite Jewry, although he did not live there. It is noteworthy that this 15th century Yemenite scholar could state: "Thank God the belief in shedim (‘demons and devils’) has ceased, like other superstitions and magical practices. I have enlarged on this matter only because most European Jews and some also in these countries still cling to many preposterous beliefs."
ADANI, SAMUEL BEN JOSEPH
(Yeshua; 1863-?), author. Adani’s grandfather, R. Yeshua, was the head of the Jewish rabbinical court in Aden and his mother’s grandfather, R. Shilo, was a member of it. In 1878 he married the granddaughter of Menah em Mansur, then head of the Jewish court. Adani was a great scholar and studied the Kabbalah with Aden’s rabbis. He visited Erez; Israel in 1899 and 1902. His book Nah alat Yosef (Jerusalem, 1906) is the most important work of Aden-ese scholarship. This work is to some extent an topic in two parts: (a) General instruction in Jewish tradition – Hebrew grammar, halakhah, angelology, paradise, astronomy, etc. Though the author asserts that enlightenment does not threaten tradition, he takes a definite position against the Jewish philosophers and educators in the new age, who prefer the conclusions of research and Aristotelian views to Jewish tradition (1, 14, 7oa-77b). On the other hand, he opposes those who presume to be too strict with the laws of Judaism (1, 15, 77a-85b). (b) The traditions of Adenese Jewry during the year and the life cycle, an account of his family, a description of his visits to Erez Israel, and riddles and jokes as well as his poetry. The topic about his family is the main source on the Aden community in the 19th century.
ADAR
(Heb,
the post-Exilic name (of Assyrian origin) of the 12th month in the Jewish year. Occurring in Assyrian inscriptions and also in Hebrew and Aramaic biblical records (Esth. 3:7 with seven parallels; Ezra 6:15), it is held to be identical with the first element in the compound proper name *Adrammelech of a patricidal son of *Sennacherib (11 Kings 19:37; Isa. 37:38) and of the Molech-like idol worshiped by the Sepharvite ancestors of the Samaritans (11 Kings 17:31). The zodiacal sign of this month is Pisces. In some years an extra month is added to the year (see ^Calendar) which is called Adar Sheni ("Second Adar" or ve-Adar – so vocalized against a firm rule in Hebrew vocalization). In such years the original month is called Adar Rishon ("First Adar"). The addition of a second Adar raises problems with regard to the celebration of *bar mitzvah and the observance of *Yahrzeit and the recitation of *Kaddish. The law is as follows: A boy born in Adar of a regular year but whose 13th year is a leap year celebrates his bar mitzvah in Adar 11 (Sh. Ar., oh 55:10). For a person deceased in Adar of a regular year, the Yahrzeit in a leap year is observed in Adar 1; there are, however, conflicting opinions in this and it is suggested that Kaddish be recited also in Adar 11 (ibid. 568:7). In the present fixed Jewish calendar, the month consists of 29 days in regular years while in leap years Adar 1 consists of 30 days and Adar 11 of 29 days. The first day of Adar (of Adar 11 in a leap year) never falls on Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday. In the 20th century Adar in its earliest occurrence extends from February 12 to March 11 or 12 and in its latest from March 2 to 30 while the 59 days of Adar 1 with Adar 11 extend from February 2 to March 31 or April 1 at the earliest and from February 11 to April 9 or 10 at the latest.
Memorable days in Adar (Adar 11 in leap years) comprise: (a) The Four Special Sabbaths (Shekalim may be read on the Sabbath before Adar 1 and ha-Hodesh on Nisan 1, but invariably Sabbaths Zakhor and Parah fall in Adar). (b) The seventh of Adar, the anniversary of the death of Moses as calculated from Deuteronomy 34:8 and Joshua 1:11; 3:2; and 4:19, observed as a fast (Meg. Ta’an. 13, ed. Neubauer). According to tradition Adar 7 was also the date of Moses’ birth (see *Adar, the Seventh of). (c, d) Adar 9 and 24 once observed as fasts (ibid.) commemorating the fateful controversies between the Schools of Shammai and Hillel (Shab. 17a) and the leprosy which befell King Uzziah (11 Kings 15:5; 11 Chron. 26:19-21). (e) Nica-nor Day on Adar 13 at first observed as a feast commemorating the Hasmonean victory over the Syrian general Nicanor (1 Macc. 7:49; 11 Macc. 15:36; Meg. Ta’an. 12) and subsequently observed as the Fast of *Esther preliminary to Purim (Piskei ha-Rosh, Meg. 1:1). (f, g) *Purim and Shushan Purim on Adar 14-15. (h) The 16th of Adar was not to be a day of mourning for on that day they commenced to build the walls of Jerusalem (Meg. Ta’an. 12); by order of Nehemiah or perhaps under the Maccabees. (i) The 17th was a feast commemorating the miraculous escape of the Sages of Israel from their Herodian or Roman enemies. (j) The 20th was a feast day because on that day Onias (*H oni ha-Me’aggel) effected deliverance from a drought (ibid.). These invest the whole month with a joyful character, hence the talmudic ruling "When Adar comes in, gladness is increased" (Ta’an. 29a).
ADAR, THE SEVENTH OF
Anniversary of both the birth and death of Moses according to talmudic tradition (Meg. 13b; Kid. 38a, etc.). The date is derived from a comparison of biblical dates (Deut. 34:8; Josh. 1:11; 3:3; 4:19; Jos., Ant., 4:327, gives the first day of Adar as the day of Moses’ death). In Oriental communities it became a day of fasting and commemoration for the pious because of the belief that a spark of the soul of Moses is found in every righteous person. In medieval Egypt the date signaled a central event in the life of the community. During the preceding Hanukkah, messengers were sent to all Jews in the area to invite them to come to celebrations at the ancient synagogue in the village of *Dumuh near Cairo which, according to tradition, was erected 40 years before the destruction of the First Temple on the spot where Moses had prayed before going to Pharaoh. The seventh of Adar was a day of prayer and supplication. The eighth was a day of celebration, apparently of a "carnival" nature. To insure the serious aspect of the festivities, the rabbis of Egypt enacted certain prohibitions. Women must be accompanied by their husband, brother, or grown son; men and women were separated in seating; dancing, singing, and the putting on of plays or "shadow shows" (a sort of puppet show) were forbidden. While this observance was later discontinued, Sephardi Jews still light candles for the "ascension of the souls of the righteous" on the seventh of Adar. Some communities recite special piyyutim on this date and also on Simhat Torah, when the biblical account of Moses’ death is read in the synagogue. Among these are "Cry! O Jochebed, with a bitter, hard voice!
Sinai, Sinai, where is Moses?!" (Davidson, Ozar, 4 (1933), 371); "Be graceful to us, O Lord because of the merit of Moses" (ibid., 3 (1930), 416); and "Happy art thou, O Mount Abarim, over all the high mountains" (ibid., 1 (1924), 8446). In 17th-century Turkey and Italy (and later also in Northern Egypt) it became customary in some circles to observe this date as a fast day, and to recite portions from a special tikkun (selected passages from Scripture, Mishnah, and Zohar), compiled by Samuel *Aboab of Venice. In Eastern and Central Europe, as well as in the United States, this day was observed by the members of the hevra kaddisha as a fast day which was terminated by a special banquet at which new members were admitted and a new board elected. After the Minhah service in the synagogue, the rabbis used to eulogize Moses and all famous rabbis and Jewish scholars who had passed away during the preceding year. The day is still widely celebrated in Orthodox communities. In Israel, it has been officially designated as the day for commemorating the death of Israeli soldiers whose last resting place is unknown.
ADAR, ZVI
(1917-1991), Israel educator. Adar was born in Petah Tikvah and became a teacher at the Bet ha-Kerem teachers’ seminary in Jerusalem (1938-53). He subsequently taught at the School of Education at the Hebrew University where he became a professor. He interested himself in the speculative aspects involved with Jewish identity in the past and its meaning in the present, transmitting his thoughts to the younger generation through the medium of education. He wrote extensively, his most important work being Ha-Arakhim ha-Hinnukhiyyim shel ha-Tanakh (1954; Humanistic Values in the Bible, 1968). In this work Adar attempted to use literary analysis to reveal the educational values in the biblical narrative. As the Bible was one of the main subjects of instruction in the Israel educational system Adar tried to show how the Bible could be used as a means for character education. He also wrote The Book of Genesis: An Introduction to the Biblical Word (1990). He was one of the editors of the Enziklopedyah Hinnukhit (1961-69). He also wrote Ha-Mikzo ot ha-Humanis-tim ba-Hinnukh ha-Tikhon (1969), and on Jewish education in Israel and the U.S. in his book HaHinnukh ha-Yehudi be-Yis-rael u-ve-Arzot ha-Berit (1970; Jewish Education in Israel and the United States, 1977). In 1969 he was appointed dean of the faculty of humanities at the Hebrew University.
ADARBI, ISAAC BEN SAMUEL
(1510?-1584?), rabbi and halakhic authority. Adarbi was preacher of the congregation of Lisbon Jews in Salonika and later rabbi of the Congregation Shalom, Salonika (before 1554). He was a disciple of Joseph *Taitazak and was a colleague of Samuel b. Moses de Medina. His efforts to unite the various Salonikan communities were reflected in his Divrei Shalom (Salonika, 1580), a collection of 30 of his sermons. He appended homiletic comments to the Pentateuch, some topics of which (on Exodus) are preserved in the Guenzburg Manuscripts (Moscow) No. 158. Four hundred and thirty of his responsa were published in Divrei Rivot (Salonika, 1581; republished Venice, 1587; Sudzilkon, 1833). These responsa show that he was a halakh-ist of distinction, fearless in his judgments, and often differing in his decisions from Samuel de Medina, who in his turn attributed hostile personal motives to Adarbi (Responsa Ma-harashdam, hm No. 40). Nevertheless, they approved each other’s halakhic rulings.
ADASA
(Heb.
Hadashah). (1) A village on a small hill strategically overlooking the Beth-Horon road close to the place of Judah Maccabee’s final victory over Nicanor. Nica-nor fell in the battle and his army fled toward Gazera/Gezer (1 Macc. 7:39-40, 45; cf. Elasa which is probably a scribal error for Adasa in 11 Macc. 14:6). The town is mentioned in the Mishnah as a place with 50 inhabitants, or with three courtyards and two households (Er. 5:6). It is the present-day Khir-bet ‘Adasa, a little more than 5 mi. (9 km.) north of Jerusalem. The site has not been excavated, but visible archaeological remains include the remains of a settlement with scattered Hero-dian, Roman, and Byzantine pottery, rock-hewn caves, and agricultural features round about. This site is not to be confused with another Khirbet Adasa north of Jerusalem, situated immediately to the northeast of Tell el-Ful, mentioned by some scholars, which has remains that only date back to Mamluk times. Yet another Khirbet Adasa is situated west of Gibeon (el-Jib), but the remains there are primarily of the Byzantine period. (2) Hadashah/Adasa is also the name of a town in the Shephelah of Judah. It is mentioned in Joshua 15:37 and located close to Migdal-Gad and Zenan. Since Lachish and Eglon are referred to in the same district, Adasa’s location should probably be sought in southwest Judah. However, no convincing suggestion has thus far been proposed for the site. Eusebius (26:1) situated Adasa of Joshua 15:37 at a totally different location, close to Gophna (Jifna), but Jerome (27:1) rightly expressed his doubts about this identification.
ADASKIN, MURRAY
(1905-2002), Canadian violinist, conductor, composer, teacher. Adaskin was born in Toronto of Russian immigrant parents. He studied music in Toronto and while still in his teens became a violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1923-36). He played with the Banff Springs Trio (1932-41) and Toronto Trio (1938-52). Adaskin was a major figure in the decentralization of Canadian concert music. From the 1930s to 1950s, he toured the country with his wife, Frances James, Canada’s leading soprano, and both were pioneers in disseminating contemporary music by radio broadcasting.
After studying composition with John Weinzweig (1944) and, in Santa Barbara and Aspen with Charles Jones (1949-51) and Darius Milhaud (1949-53), Adaskin was appointed to the University of Saskatchewan (1952-72). There he served as head of music and composer-in-residence and conducted the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (sso). In 1973, he moved to Victoria, where he continued to compose and teach violin and composition.
A leader in postwar cultural nationalism, Adaskin insisted that the sso commission Canadian works annually and based many of his own pieces on Canada’s landscape and early history as well as its First Nations’ traditions. A conservative modernist, Adaskin’s neo-classic works also include music on Jewish themes. His Tfilat Shalom (1973) was commissioned by the father of Adaskin’s violin student Jeff Krolik who premiered the piece in Jerusalem.
A founding member of the Canadian League of Composers, Adaskin served on the Canada Council (1966-69) and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada (1980).
ADASS JESHURUN, ADASS JISROEL
Originally the breakaway (Austritt) minority of Orthodox congregations in Germany in the mid-19th century (see *Neo-Orthodoxy). These congregations dissociated themselves on religious grounds from the unitary congregations established by state law in which the majority tended toward *Reform Judaism. Their main aim was to safeguard strict adherence to Jewish law. The Hebrew terms Adass (or Adat, Adath) Jeshurun and Adass Jisroel, meaning "congregation of Jeshurun" and "congregation of Israel," were chosen by these congregations to express their conviction that, even if in the minority, they were the "true Israel." The names were cherished for their sociore-ligious connotations by Orthodox groups in the West where Reform Judaism was widespread. The Israelitische Religion-sgesellschaft of Frankfurt on the Main, with Samson Raphael *Hirsch as rabbi, called itself Adass Jeshurun from 1851, as did a similar community in Cologne from 1867. The congregation founded in Berlin in 1869, the first rabbi of which was Azriel *Hildesheimer, and one in Koenigsberg in 1913, chose the name Adass Jisroel. The Berlin Adass Jisroel established its own educational network. Between 1890 and 1903 there was an Adass Jeshurun congregation in Belfast, composed of immigrants from Russia. In England, the strictly Orthodox congregation which grew out of the north London bet ha-midrash (1909) was called Adath Yisroel. After 1933, immigrants from Germany, loyal to the concept of Adass Jisroel, formed a congregation in northwest London; Manchester has both an Adass Jeshurun and an Adass Jisroel synagogue. Such communities have also been formed in various places in the United States, the best-known in Washington Heights, New York City. Others exist in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Israel. The names have also been used by other groups, e.g., by the Reform Adass Jeshurun in Amsterdam in 1796. The synagogue of an Adas Israel congregation in Louisville, Ky., was consecrated in 1849.
ADDA BAR AHAVAH
(1) Babylonian amora of the third century. He was born on the day R. Judah ha-Nasi died (Kid. 72a-b; Gen. R. 58:2). A distinguished pupil of Rav, he twice rent his garments in mourning for Rav’s death; the second time, when he realized that there was now no authority to consult on halakhic matters (Ber. 42b-43a). His main interest centered on halakhah, which is reported in his name by the leading sages of his day. He was extremely pious and reputed to work miracles; his contemporaries were convinced that in his company no hurt would befall them (Ta’an. 20b). During a drought his prayers for rain were answered immediately (tj, Ta’an. 3:13, 67a). When asked by the sages how he had attained a ripe old age, he replied: "No one ever came to synagogue before me, or remained behind when I left. I have not walked four cubits without meditating on the Torah, and never in an unclean place. I have not indulged in regular sleep. I have not disturbed my colleagues at the academy, nor called any of them by a nickname. I have not rejoiced at a colleague’s misfortune, nor gone to sleep with an angry thought against a colleague. I have not gone in the market place to anyone who owed me money, nor ever lost my temper at home" (tj, Ta’an. 3:13, 67a; cf. Ta’an. 20b). Another dictum is: "One who has sinned and confesses his sin but is unrepentant is to be compared to a person who holds in his hand an unclean insect. Even though he immerses himself in all the waters of the world, nothing avails him" (Ta’an. 16a). In tj, Ta’anit 2:1, 65a this statement with slight variations is ascribed to Abba b. Zavda. A work entitled Baraita (Tekufah) de-Rav Adda dealing with the principles of intercalation is ascribed to Adda. It is no longer extant, but it was still known in the 14th century (Zunz-Albeck, Derashot 274).
(2) Babylonian amora of the fourth century. A favorite pupil of Rava who called him "my son," he esteemed his teacher so highly that he said to his colleagues: "Instead of gnawing bones under Abbaye, you should rather eat fat meat under Rava" (bb 22a), Many of the rabbis blamed themselves for his premature death because of their treatment of him (ibid.).
various parts of the service, including the *Hallel, the *Kaddish over the Scroll of the Law, and the Priestly Benediction. The domestic versions introduce many variations, abbreviations, and distortions characteristic of folk music.
ADDIR BI-MELUKHAH
(Heb.
"Mighty in Kingship"), acrostical hymn recited toward the close of the Passover seder in the Ashkenazi and some other rites. It enumerates various attributes of God in the first two lines of each strophe, followed by a list of the various types of angels and the praises which they voice.
The hymn is first found in German manuscripts of the early 13th century and was probably written in Germany about that time.
In the Ez Hayyim of the 13th-century Jacob Hazzan of London (edited by I. Brodie, 1 (1960), 332), an additional stanza gives the acrostic Jacob, and conceivably this author wrote the poem.
ADEL
(Hodel), only daughter of *Israel b. Eliezer Ba’al Shem Tov. H asidim recall her name with veneration and she figures in many h asidic legends. She cared for her father on his sickbed. Her husband Jehiel Ashkenazi was honored by contemporary H asidim and by his father-in-law. The couple earned their living from the store which she supervised. She was the mother of the zaddikim *Moses Hayyim Ephraim of Sudylkow and *Baruch of Medzibezh. Her daughter, Feige, the wife of Simhah b. Nahman of Gorodenka (Horodenca), was the mother of *Nahman of Bratslav who said of his grandmother that "all the zaaddikim believed her to be endowed with Divine Inspiration, and a woman of great perception."
ADDIR HU
(Heb
"Mighty is He"), a hymn in the form of an alphabetic acrostic enumerating the qualities of God (mighty, blessed, great), and imploring Him to rebuild the Temple, a prayer which is repeated in the refrain:
"Speedily, speedily/In our days, and soon to come;/ Build, O God! Build, O God/ Build Thy house speedily."
Addir Hu is one of several hymns added to the Passover *Haggadah in the Middle Ages to be chanted after the conclusion of the formal part of the * seder service according to the Ashkenazi rite. Since the 16th century Addir Hu appears in printed texts. A Judeo-German version recited by Ashkenazi Jews was first printed in Gershom b. Solomon ha-Kohen’s Haggadah (Prague, 1527). Because of the refrain in that version (Bau dein Tempel shire) the Jews of southern and western Germany called the seder night "Baunacht" and the celebrating of the seder "bauen," i.e., to build. In the Avignon Mahzor (1775) it is recited on all festivals.
Music
Only in the Ashkenazi tradition is Addir Hu given greater prominence than the other Haggadah songs. It is sung to basically the same tune in all Jewish homes, and this is used in the synagogue as a musical motif of the festival. The music appeared in print as early as 1644 but may be even older, since one of its variants is in a Shtayger scale with a diminished seventh. In the 18th century it was often quoted in cantorial Passover compositions. In the synagogue, the tune is used in
ADELAIDE
Capital of South Australia, established in 1836. Among its first settlers were a number of Jews engaged in commerce and sheep farming. Joseph Barrow Montefiore, a cousin of Sir Moses *Montefiore, who became in 1832 the first president of the Sydney Synagogue, lived in Adelaide at the time of the founding of the synagogue there. Local Jewish life was stimulated after 1838 by Emanuel Solomon from Sydney, who organized religious services on the New Year and the Day of Atonement and in 1845 successfully applied to the government for land for a cemetery. In 1847 Eliezer Levi Montefiore sought state support for Jewish religious institutions. In 1848 there were 58 Jews living in Adelaide, and the first congregation was organized with Judah Moss Solomon as its president. J.B. Montefiore gave addresses in English during the High Holidays. The first synagogue, used also as a schoolroom, was opened in 1850 and the present one, adjoining it, in 1870, when the community numbered 435. A.T. *Boas was invited to act as minister in 1870 and served for nearly half a century. Vabian Louis *Solomon, son of Judah Moss Solomon, was premier of the colony for a brief period in 1898. The community declined considerably in numbers after World War 1, but there was a subsequent increase, especially with the emigration of Jews from Egypt after the mid-1950s. Since the 1960s the Jewish population of Adelaide has numbered about 1,200, although, unlike most other Jewish communities in Australia, there has been a decline in population in recent years. In 2001, according to the Australian census, 979 persons declared themselves to be Jewish by religion. An Orthodox and a Liberal synagogue operated. There were no other organized Jewish communities in South Australia apart from Adelaide, where the South Australian Board of Deputies had its headquarters.
ADELANTADOS
(singular Adelantado or Adelantatus),one of the designations applied in documents of Christian *Spain to the parnasim, elective members of the Jewish community board who were invested with executive authority. They are sometimes referred to in Castile as viejos (Heb. zekenim; "elders") or muquddamin, in Catalonia as fideles (Heb. nemanin; "trustees"), and in Aragon and Navarre both as muqaddamin and as jurados.
ADELKIND, ISRAEL CORNELIUS
(16th century), Italian printer. Adelkind was the son of a German immigrant who settled in Padua. He worked in the publishing house of Daniel *Bomberg in Venice from the time of its establishment.Adelkind greatly admired the Bomberg family, adding the name of Daniel Bomberg’s father, Cornelius, to his own, and named his son after Daniel himself.
Adelkind supervised the publication of the first editions of the two Talmuds (1520-23), which Bomberg printed, and the Midrash Rabbah (1554) printed jointly by Bomberg and Giustiniani. In 1553 the printer Tobias Foa invited Adelkind to manage a printing press in Sabbioneta and, in particular, to supervise the publication of the Talmud. However, a ban was imposed on the Talmud in 1553 after only a few tractates had appeared. Nevertheless, he remained with the firm until 1555 and took part in the publication of other works. He also printed books in Judeo-German, e.g., Elijah Levita’s translation of the Psalms (1545). The statement of a Christian contemporary that Adelkind was converted to Christianity is questionable.
ADELMAN, URI
(1958-2004), Israeli writer. Adelman studied and later taught musicology at Tel Aviv University, wrote for the stage and for television, and published four books on computers. His reputation rests on four thrillers, all of them bestsellers, which combine wit, erudition, and suspense. The first, "Concerto for Spy and Orchestra" (1993), intertwines espionage and musicology within the confines of the Pravoslav church in Jerusalem. "Lost and Found" (1998) was followed by "Tropic of Venus" (2000), a story of love and mysterious identities which won Israel’s Golden Book Prize. Adelman’s last novel, published shortly before his sudden death, is entitled Shaot Metot ("Dead Hours"), a thriller played out against the background of the Intifada, in which a young surgeon who wishes to save lives finds himself accused of homicide.
ADELSON, HOWARD LAURENCE
(1925-2003), U.S. medieval historian. Born in New York, Adelson taught at Princeton, served with the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War, and then joined the faculty of City College, New York. He began teaching economic history, early medieval history, and ancient and medieval numismatics in 1954 and remained there for nearly 50 years. He developed the Ph.D. program in medieval history at the Graduate Center at City University of New York (1969). He was also an officer of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy.
An ardent Zionist active in Jewish affairs, he served, from 1994, as co-chair of American Academics for Israel’s Future; was on the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; chaired the Academic Affairs Committee of the University’s Rothenberg International School; and, in the last ten years of his life, was chairman of the Anna Sobel Levy Foundation, which supports junior U.S. military officers studying Israel. For more than 20 years he wrote a weekly column for the Jewish Press that had a large following. Adelson was active as well in the American Numismatic Society and did research in medieval economic history and political thought. Among his achievements was the discovery, by analyzing the movement of coins, that there had been trade between the eastern and western halves of the Byzantine Empire. Adelson’s books include: Light Weight Solidi and Byzantine Trade during the Sixth and Seventh Centuries (1957); The American Numismatic Society 1858-1958 (1958); and Medieval Commerce (1962).
