BE RAB – A name which, in the Talmud, has various meanings and occurs in a variety of combinations. Its immediate signification, however, is "academy of a tannaite or amora" (compare 'Er. 73a), for which the Jerusalem Talmud substitutes...
BEACONSFIELD, EARL OF – See Disraeli.
BEAN, BÆAN – A tribe destroyed by Judas Maccabeus (I Macc. v. 4; Josephus, "Ant." xii. 8, § 1) on account of its persistent attacks upon the Jews.J. Jr. G. B. L.
BEANS – pol"): The well-known vegetable, mentioned twice in the Old Testament. In II Sam. xvii. 28 it is referred to as a foodstuff along with wheat, barley, and lentils. How it was prepared for the table is not known; it was probably...
BEAR – dob"): An animal often mentioned in the Old Testament, and evidently not rare in Palestine and Syria. Next to the lion, the Bear is regarded as the most formidable enemy of mankind (Amos v. 19), although he must be very hungry...
BEARD – Biblical Data: The modern Oriental cultivates his Beard as the sign and ornament of manhood: he swears by his Beard, touching it. The sentiment seems to have been the same in Biblical times. According to the Egyptian and...
BEAUCAIRE – City in the department of Gard, France. A somewhat important Jewish community was founded here as early as the beginning of the twelfth century, whose members lived among the Christians and enjoyed the same rights and privileges...
BEAUCROISSANT – Community of the canton of Rives, arrondissement of St. Marcellin lsère, France, a locality inhabited by Jews in 1337.Bibliography: Revue des Etudes Juives, ix. 241.G. I. L.
BEAUGENCY – See France.
BEAUGENCY, ELIEZER – See Eliezer of Beaugency.
BEAUTIFUL, THE, IN JEWISH LITERATURE – To the speculative theory of the beautiful the Jews can not be said to have contributed fruitful thoughts. In the economy of the humanities this field fell to the inheritance of the Greeks. This statement will stand, even...
BEBAI – 1. Name of a family, of whom, according to Ezra ii. 11 and I Esd. v. 13, 623 returned with Zerubbabel. According to Neh. vii. 16, their number was 628. Twenty-eight more came up with Ezra (Ezra viii. 11). Four of the Bene Bebai...
BEBAI – The Palestinian and the Babylonian Talmudim, as also the Palestinian Midrashim, frequently cite an amora named Bebai, sometimes as "Rabbi" and sometimes as "Rab," but without further designation; and as all the data relating to...
BEBAI B. ABAYE – A Babylonian scholar of the fourth and fifth amoraic generations (fourth century), son of the celebrated Abaye Naḥmani, and presiding judge in Pumbedita (Yeb. 75b; Ket. 85a), where his father had directed the academy. Some...
BEBAI B. ABBA, R. – A Palestinian haggadist, of uncertain date and rarely cited, whose name appears also as "Bebai Rabbah," "Beba Raba," and "Beba Abba" (Lev. R. xxix. 9; Yer. Ta'an. ii. 65d; Pesiḳ. Baḥodesh, 154a; Yalḳ., Lev. 645). He is cited...
BEBAI, BEN – A priestly family or gild having charge of the preparation of wicks for the Temple lamps (Sheḳ. v. 1; Yer. Sheḳ. v. 48d; Yer. Peah viii. 21a). The name is derived from the first person appointed to that office after the return...
BEBRI, MOSES BEN JUDAH – Ambassador from the sultan Mohammed IV. to King Charles XI. of Sweden; died May 29, 1673, at Amsterdam, where he was buried with great honors. His son, Judah Berbi, succeeded him as ambassador, and returned from Amsterdam to...
BECHER – 1. Son of Benjamin, mentioned in Gen. xlvi. 21 and in the genealogical list of I Chron. vii. 6, 8, but does not occur in the genealogies of Num. xxvi. 38 and I Chron. viii. 1. 2. Son of Ephraim and eponym of the Bachrites (Num....
BECHER, ALFRED JULIUS – Austrian journalist, musician, and revolutionist; born at Manchester, England, in 1803 (or 1805); died at Vienna Nov. 23, 1848. He was a son of the founder of the Rhenish-West India Company, and studied law at Heidelberg,...
BECHER, SIEGFRIED – Austrian economist; born at Plany, Bohemia, Feb. 28, 1806; died at Vienna March 4, 1873. He studied at the universities of Prague and Vienna, receiving from the latter the degree of Ph.D. In 1831 he entered the state service; in...
BECHER, WOLF – German physician and medical author; born at Filehne, province of Posen, Prussia, May 6, 1862. He received his education at the gymnasium of his native town and at the University of Berlin, whence he was graduated as doctor of...
BECHOR SCHOR, JOSEPH – See Joseph ben Nathan Bekor Shor.
BECHORATH – An ancestor of Saul, and son of Aphiah (I Sam. ix. 1).J. Jr. G. B. L.
BECK, ADOLF – Austrian physician and professor of physiology at the University of Lemberg; born Jan. 1, 1863, in Cracow, Galicia, of poor parents. During his academic career Beck supported himself as a private tutor. Upon graduating with...
BECK, JACOB BEN ENOCH – Dayyan and shoḥet at Leipnik, Moravia, at the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth He was the author of "Zibḥe Shelamim" (Sacrifices of Peace-Offerings), containing the laws concerning the...