MIZPAH – Name of several places in Palestine. It is derived from (= "to look"), on account of which it is translated in certain instances by the Septuagint σκοπιά and ὅρασις, and by the Targumim (Gen. xxxi. 49). Except in Hosea v. 1,...
MIZRAḤ – Hebrew term denoting the rising of the sun, the east (Num. xxi. 11; Ps. I. 1); also used to designate an ornamental picture hung on the eastern wall of the house, or in front of the readingdesk in the synagogue, and applied to...
MIZRAḤI – Family living in the Orient, to which belong some well-known rabbinical authors. There are two main branches: one in Constantinople, and the other in Jerusalem. The name "Mizraḥi" signifies "an Oriental," and is used as a...
MIZRAIM – See Egypt.
MIẒWAH – See Commandment.
MNEMONICS – Certain sentences, words, or letters used to assist the memory. Such aids are employed in the Mishnah, in both Talmuds, and in the Masorah, as well as by the Geonim and by the teachers of the Law during the Middle Ages. In this...
MOAB – District and nation of Palestine. The etymology of the word is very uncertain. The earliest gloss is found in the Septuagint, Gen. xix. 37, which explains the name, in obvious allusion to the account of Moab's parentage, as ἐκ...
MOABITE STONE – Name usually given to the only known surviving inscribed monument of ancient Moab. It was discovered in 1868 at Dhiban, the ancient Dibon, four miles north of the River Arnon. When first seen by Europeans (including a German...
MOBILE – See Alabama.
MOCATTA – An Anglo-Jewish family which can be traced back to one of the earliest of the resettlers in England.David Mocatta: English architect; born in London 1806; died May 1, 1882; son of Moses Mocatta, translator of "Faith...
MOCH, JULES – French officer; colonel of the 130th Regiment of Infantry; born at Sarrelouis Aug. 4, 1829; died at Paris Aug. 8, 1881. On completing his classical studies at the lycée of Metz, he entered the military school of Saint-Cyr (1849)...
MOD'AI – Family of Turkish authors.Ḥayyim Mod'ai (the Elder): Rabbinical author; born at Safed 1709; died there 1784. He was sent by the Safed community to Europe to collect ḥaluḳḳah. From 1755 to 1776 he lived at Constantinople,...
MODEL, MARX – Court Jew to Margrave William Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1703-1723) From 1691 Model and his family were exempt from the payment of duties on the goods which they imported, and in the same year were given the privilege of...
MODENA – City in central Italy; formerly the capital of the duchy of Modena. Of its Jewish community, which has been, during the last few centuries, one of the most important in Italy, there is no record until a comparatively late date....
MODENA – An Italian family the most distinguished members of which are:Aaron Berechiah Modena. See Aaron Berechiah ben Moses ben Nehemiah of Modena.David ben Abraham Modena: Supposed author of the anonymous Hebrew-Italian school...
MODIANO, JOSEPH SAMUEL – Turkish rabbinical author; lived at Salonica at the end of the eighteenth century. He belonged to a family originally from Modena, Italy, the descendants of which are prominent in financial and industrial enterprise in Salonica....
MODIGLIANI, ELIA – Italian traveler, naturalist, and author; born at Florence June 13, 1861; graduated at Pavia in 1883. From early youth he showed a marked inclination for natural science and a special fondness for travel. He visited the Malay...
MODIN (MODA'IM, MODI'IM, MODEÏN, MODI'IT) – See Mattathias Maccabeus.
MODON, SIMSON HA-KOHEN – Poet; born in Mantua Aug. 1, 1679; died there June 10, 1727. He received a thorough education and was recognized as an accomplished linguist. He was one of those sent by the congregation in Mantua to do homage to Emperor Charles...
MODONA, LEONELLO – Italian Orientalist; born at Cento in 1841; educated at the Istituto degli Studi Superiori of Florence. Besides compiling several library catalogues he has written; "L'Uomo e la Natura"; "La Safo Storica e il Mito di Safo e...
MO'ED – Name of an order of the Mishnah and the Tosefta both in Babli and in Yerushalmi. The name "Mo'ed," which is mentioned in the Talmud itself (Suk. 4b), is applied to this order because all the treatises belonging to it contain...
MO'ED ḲAṬAN – Treatise in the Mishnah, in the Tosefta, and in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. It deals principally with the regulations concerning the semi-feasts, or intermediary festivals, which are termed "mo'ed" and are the days...
MOGADOR – Seaport of Morocco, on the Atlantic; founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdallah in 1759. It has a total population of 19,000, including 10,000 Jews. Mogador is divided into three parts: the Ḳaṣbah, where the governor, some...
MOGHILEF (MOHILEV) – Community in 1621. 1. Capital of the government of the same name in White Russia; situated on the Dnieper. Though the city was well known as an important trading center as early as the fourteenth century, the first mention of...
MOGHRABI (MAGHRABI), JOSEPH AL – See Joseph ben Judah ibn 'Aḳnin.