JewishEncyclopedia.com

BRAUNSCHWEIG, MOSES BEN MORDECAI – Polish Talmudist; lived about the middle of the sixteenth century at Cracow. He wrote a commentary on Jacob Weil's widely known codex on the slaughtering of animals and the inspection of slaughtered animals ("Hilkot Sheḥiṭot...
BRAVERY – See Courage.
BRAVO, ABRAHAM – A financier living in London in 1710. He was a descendant of a Spanish-Portuguese family, and one of the earliest Anglo-Jewish poets. Bravo eulogized in English verse the work, "Espejo Fiel de Vidas" (London, 1720), written by...
BRAY-SUR-SEINE – Small town situated between Provins and Montereau, in the department of Seine-et-Marne; belonged formerly to Champagne. In the twelfth century it had an important Jewish community, including such rabbis as Jacob the Tosafist,...
BRAZEN SEA – Biblical Data: The brazen laver of the Mosaic ritual; made by Solomon out of bronze captured by David at Tibhath and Chun, cities of Hadarezer (I Chron. xviii. 8). It served the same purpose for the officiating priests of...
BRAZEN SERPENT – Biblical Data: An image set up by Moses which is said to have healed those who looked upon it. When the people of Israel, near the close of the desert wanderings, were marching southward to go around Edom to the east of...
BRAZIER – See Coal.
BRAZIL – The largest of the South American states, extending from lat. 5° N. to 33° 45' S., long. 35° to 74° W., with an area of 3,209,878 square miles. It was discovered by Vincente Yanez Pinzon in 1499, and independently in 1500 by...
BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE – Nature of Contract to Marry. The refusal of either party to a contract of marriage to fulfil it. In order that there may be a breach of promise, there must be a contract cognizable by the law. Unlike the law in many modern...
BREACH OF TRUST – Violation by fraud or omission of any duty lawfully imposed upon a trustee, executor, or other person in a position of trust. It is thus a branch of criminal law, and under this aspect will be considered in the present...
BREAD – Preparation of Bread. Bread was the principal article of food among the Hebrews, while meat, vegetables, or liquids served only to supplement the meal (Gen. xxv. 34, xxvii. 17; Ruth ii. 14; I Sam. xxviii. 24; Gen. xviii. 7)....
BRÉAL, MICHEL JULES ALFRED – French philologist; born of French parentage at Landau, Rhenish Bavaria, March 26, 1832. He received his education at Weissenburg, Metz, and Paris. In the last-named city, after his studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand were...
BREASTPLATE – A rendering of the Hebrew "shiryon" or "siryon," which would be more correctly translated "coat of mail" or "cuirass." The kings of Israel used in warfare (I Kings xxii. 34) such body-protectors as were in vogue among their...
BREASTPLATE OF THE HIGH PRIEST – Biblical Data: A species of pouch, adorned with precious stones, worn by the high priest on his breast when he presented in the Holy Place the names of the children of Israel. The etymological significance of the Hebrew word is...
BREATH – See Holy Spirit;Soul.
BRECHER, ADOLPH – Austrian physician; born at Prossnitz, Moravia, in 1831; died at Olmütz April 13, 1894. He was the son of the physician Gideon Brecher. Adolph Brecher, after attending the gymnasia at Presburg and Prague, studied in Nikolsburg...
BRECHER, GIDEON (GEDALIAH B. ELIEZER) – Austrian physician and author; born at Prossnitz, Moravia, Jan. 12, 1797; died there May 14, 1873.Brecher, who was the first Jew of Prossnitz to study for the medical or any other profession, attained the degree of master of...
BREGENZ – See Tyrol.
BREGMAN, ELIEZER B. MOSES – Russian financier and philanthropist; born in Indura (commonly called by Russian Jews "Amdur"), government of Grodno, in 1826; died in Teplitz, Bohemia, Sept. 3, 1896. He was a prominent business man of Grodno, where he settled...
BREIDENBACH, MORITZ WILHELM AUGUST – German jurist; born at Offenbach-on-the-Main Nov. 13, 1796; died at Darmstadt April 2, 1857. He first attended the gymnasium at Frankfort, and then the University of Heidelberg, from which he was graduated in 1817 as LL.D. After...
BREIDENBACH, WOLF – German court agent and champion of Jewish emancipation; born in the village of Breidenbach, Hesse-Cassel, 1751;died in Offenbach Feb. 28, 1829. He went to Frankfort-on-the-Main as a poor boy, and for a time was a baḥur, being...
BREIER, EDUARD – Austrian writer; born at Warasdin in Croatia Nov. 3, 1811; died at Zaiwitz near Znaim, Moravia, June 3, 1886. His first novel, "Der Fluch des Rabbi," published in 1840, was written in eleven days, during his furlough while an...
BREITENSTEIN, MAX – Austrian writer and translator; born at Iglau, Moravia, Nov. 10, 1855. He attended the gymnasium of his native city and the University of Vienna. In 1876 he turned to journalism and founded the weekly "Alma Mater," which he...
BREITHAUPT, JOHN FREDERICK – John Frederick Breithaupt.(From Breithaupt's "Rashi.")Christian Hebraist and rabbinical scholar at the beginning of the eighteenth century; aulic councilor to the emperor and to the duke of Gotha. He produced an elaborate...
BREMEN – Free city of the German empire; remarkable as one of the places where few Jews have ever dwelt. A baptized Jew, Paulus, is said to have taught alchemy there to Archbishop Adalbert about the middle of the eleventh century....

BRAUNSCHWEIG, MOSES BEN MORDECAI – Polish Talmudist; lived about the middle of the sixteenth century at Cracow. He wrote a commentary on Jacob Weil's widely known codex on the slaughtering of animals and the inspection of slaughtered animals ("Hilkot Sheḥiṭot...

BRAVERY – See Courage.

BRAVO, ABRAHAM – A financier living in London in 1710. He was a descendant of a Spanish-Portuguese family, and one of the earliest Anglo-Jewish poets. Bravo eulogized in English verse the work, "Espejo Fiel de Vidas" (London, 1720), written by...

BRAY-SUR-SEINE – Small town situated between Provins and Montereau, in the department of Seine-et-Marne; belonged formerly to Champagne. In the twelfth century it had an important Jewish community, including such rabbis as Jacob the Tosafist,...

BRAZEN SEA – Biblical Data: The brazen laver of the Mosaic ritual; made by Solomon out of bronze captured by David at Tibhath and Chun, cities of Hadarezer (I Chron. xviii. 8). It served the same purpose for the officiating priests of...

BRAZEN SERPENT – Biblical Data: An image set up by Moses which is said to have healed those who looked upon it. When the people of Israel, near the close of the desert wanderings, were marching southward to go around Edom to the east of...

BRAZIER – See Coal.

BRAZIL – The largest of the South American states, extending from lat. 5° N. to 33° 45' S., long. 35° to 74° W., with an area of 3,209,878 square miles. It was discovered by Vincente Yanez Pinzon in 1499, and independently in 1500 by...

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE – Nature of Contract to Marry. The refusal of either party to a contract of marriage to fulfil it. In order that there may be a breach of promise, there must be a contract cognizable by the law. Unlike the law in many modern...

BREACH OF TRUST – Violation by fraud or omission of any duty lawfully imposed upon a trustee, executor, or other person in a position of trust. It is thus a branch of criminal law, and under this aspect will be considered in the present...

BREAD – Preparation of Bread. Bread was the principal article of food among the Hebrews, while meat, vegetables, or liquids served only to supplement the meal (Gen. xxv. 34, xxvii. 17; Ruth ii. 14; I Sam. xxviii. 24; Gen. xviii. 7)....

BRÉAL, MICHEL JULES ALFRED – French philologist; born of French parentage at Landau, Rhenish Bavaria, March 26, 1832. He received his education at Weissenburg, Metz, and Paris. In the last-named city, after his studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand were...

BREASTPLATE – A rendering of the Hebrew "shiryon" or "siryon," which would be more correctly translated "coat of mail" or "cuirass." The kings of Israel used in warfare (I Kings xxii. 34) such body-protectors as were in vogue among their...

BREASTPLATE OF THE HIGH PRIEST – Biblical Data: A species of pouch, adorned with precious stones, worn by the high priest on his breast when he presented in the Holy Place the names of the children of Israel. The etymological significance of the Hebrew word is...

BREATH – See Holy Spirit;Soul.

BRECHER, ADOLPH – Austrian physician; born at Prossnitz, Moravia, in 1831; died at Olmütz April 13, 1894. He was the son of the physician Gideon Brecher. Adolph Brecher, after attending the gymnasia at Presburg and Prague, studied in Nikolsburg...

BRECHER, GIDEON (GEDALIAH B. ELIEZER) – Austrian physician and author; born at Prossnitz, Moravia, Jan. 12, 1797; died there May 14, 1873.Brecher, who was the first Jew of Prossnitz to study for the medical or any other profession, attained the degree of master of...

BREGENZ – See Tyrol.

BREGMAN, ELIEZER B. MOSES – Russian financier and philanthropist; born in Indura (commonly called by Russian Jews "Amdur"), government of Grodno, in 1826; died in Teplitz, Bohemia, Sept. 3, 1896. He was a prominent business man of Grodno, where he settled...

BREIDENBACH, MORITZ WILHELM AUGUST – German jurist; born at Offenbach-on-the-Main Nov. 13, 1796; died at Darmstadt April 2, 1857. He first attended the gymnasium at Frankfort, and then the University of Heidelberg, from which he was graduated in 1817 as LL.D. After...

BREIDENBACH, WOLF – German court agent and champion of Jewish emancipation; born in the village of Breidenbach, Hesse-Cassel, 1751;died in Offenbach Feb. 28, 1829. He went to Frankfort-on-the-Main as a poor boy, and for a time was a baḥur, being...

BREIER, EDUARD – Austrian writer; born at Warasdin in Croatia Nov. 3, 1811; died at Zaiwitz near Znaim, Moravia, June 3, 1886. His first novel, "Der Fluch des Rabbi," published in 1840, was written in eleven days, during his furlough while an...

BREITENSTEIN, MAX – Austrian writer and translator; born at Iglau, Moravia, Nov. 10, 1855. He attended the gymnasium of his native city and the University of Vienna. In 1876 he turned to journalism and founded the weekly "Alma Mater," which he...

BREITHAUPT, JOHN FREDERICK – John Frederick Breithaupt.(From Breithaupt's "Rashi.")Christian Hebraist and rabbinical scholar at the beginning of the eighteenth century; aulic councilor to the emperor and to the duke of Gotha. He produced an elaborate...

BREMEN – Free city of the German empire; remarkable as one of the places where few Jews have ever dwelt. A baptized Jew, Paulus, is said to have taught alchemy there to Archbishop Adalbert about the middle of the eleventh century....