Moses

Pronunciations

Moses (MOH-ziz) listen
Moshe (moh-SHEH) listen
Moshe Rabbeinu (moh-SHEH rah-BAY-noo) listen

Definitions

  • n. The biblical leader and lawgiver of the Israelites.

Example Sentences

  • "I affirm that Torah was revealed directly to Moshe Rabbeinu at Sinai then written down by chazal and the tzaddikim, including both Written and Oral Torah." (source)

  • "You can't help losing your temper with them—it even happened once in a while to Moshe Rabbenu..." (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • English

Etymology

  • משה רבינו 'Moses our teacher'

    • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

      Alternative Spellings

      Moshe, Moshe Rabbeinu, Moshe Rabbenu

Notes

  • "Son of Amram and Yocheved, brother of Miriam and Aaron. The story of his life is told in the Books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. After growing up in the Egyptian court, Moses was appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses received the Ten Commandments, the basis of Jewish law, from God on Mount Sinai and served as God’s messenger to the people. Moses also led the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years, preparing them to enter the land of Canaan. He died at the age of 120 in the land of Moab, overlooking Canaan. There are several explanations as to why God punished Moses by not allowing him to enter the Promised Land, including that he argued with God, he smashed the Ten Commandments when he saw the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf, and he disobeyed God in the desert." (JPS)

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