Zionism

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For other uses, see Zionism (disambiguation).

Front page of The Jewish Chronicle, 17 January 1896, showing an article by Theodor Herzl (the father of
political Zionism) a month prior to the publication of his pamphlet Der Judenstaat

Theodor Herzl was the founder of the Modern Zionist movement. In his 1896 pamphlet Der Judenstaat,
he envisioned the founding of a future independent Jewish state during the 20th century.

Zionism (Hebrew: ‫ צִיּוֹנוּת‬Tsiyyonut [t͡sijo̞ˈnut] after Zion) is both an ideology[1][2][3] and nationalist[fn 1]
movement among the Jewish people that espouses the re-establishment of and support for[6] a Jewish
state in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel (roughly corresponding to Canaan, the Holy
Land, or the region of Palestine).[7][8][9][10] Modern Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in Central
and Eastern Europe as a national revival movement, both in reaction to newer waves of antisemitism
and as a response to Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment.[11][12][13] Soon after this, most leaders of the
movement associated the main goal with creating the desired state in Palestine, then an area controlled
by the Ottoman Empire.[14][15][16]
Until 1948, the primary goals of Zionism were the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of
Israel, in gathering of the exiles, and liberation of Jews from the antisemitic discrimination and
persecution that they experienced during their diaspora. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in
1948, Zionism continues primarily to advocate on behalf of Israel and to address threats to its continued
existence and security.

A religious variety of Zionism supports Jews upholding their Jewish identity defined as adherence to
religious Judaism, opposes the assimilation of Jews into other societies, and has advocated the return of
Jews to Israel as a means for Jews to be a majority nation in their own state.[7] A variety of Zionism,
called cultural Zionism, founded and represented most prominently by Ahad Ha'am, fostered a secular
vision of a Jewish "spiritual center" in Israel. Unlike Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, Ahad Ha'am
strived for Israel to be "a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews".[17]

Advocates of Zionism view it as a national liberation movement for the repatriation of a persecuted
people residing as minorities in a variety of nations to their ancestral homeland.[18][19][20] Critics of
Zionism view it as a colonialist,[21] racist[22] and exceptionalist[23] ideology that led advocates to violence
during Mandatory Palestine, followed by the exodus of Palestinians, and the subsequent denial of their
right to return to lands and property lost during the 1948 and 1967 wars.[24][25][26][27]

Contents

 1 Terminology

 2 Overview

 3 Beliefs

 4 History

o 4.1 Territories considered

o 4.2 Balfour Declaration and the Palestine Mandate

o 4.3 Rise of Hitler

o 4.4 Post-WWII

 5 Types

o 5.1 Labor Zionism

o 5.2 Liberal Zionism

o 5.3 Revisionist Zionism

o 5.4 Religious Zionism

o 5.5 Green Zionism

o 5.6 Post-Zionism
  6 Non-Jewish support

o 6.1 Christian Zionism

o 6.2 Muslim Zionism

o 6.3 Hindu support for Zionism

 7 Anti-Zionism

o 7.1 Catholic Church and Zionism

o 7.2 Characterization as colonialism or ethnic cleansing

o 7.3 Characterization as racist

o 7.4 Haredi Judaism and Zionism

o 7.5 Anti-Zionism or antisemitism

 8 Marcus Garvey and Black Zionism

 9 See also

 10 References

 11 Bibliography

 12 External links

Terminology

The term "Zionism" is derived from the word Zion (Hebrew: ‫ ציון‬,Tzi-yon), referring to Jerusalem.
Throughout eastern Europe in the late 19th century, numerous grassroots groups were promoting the
national resettlement of the Jews in their homeland, as well as the revitalization and cultivation of the
Hebrew language. These groups were collectively called the "Lovers of Zion" and were seen to
encounter a growing Jewish movement toward assimilation. The first use of the term is attributed to the
Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, founder of the Kadimah nationalist Jewish students' movement; he used the
term in 1890 in his journal Selbstemanzipation! (Self-Emancipation),[28] itself named almost identically to
Leon Pinsker's 1882 book Auto-Emancipation.

Overview

Main article: Types of Zionism

The modern state of Israel, the end goal of the Zionist movement.

The common denominator among all Zionists is the claim to Eretz Israel as the national homeland of the
Jews and as the legitimate focus for Jewish national self-determination.[29] It is based on historical ties
and religious traditions linking the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.[30] Zionism does not have a
uniform ideology, but has evolved in a dialogue among a plethora of ideologies: General Zionism,
Religious Zionism, Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Green Zionism, etc.

After almost two millennia of the Jewish diaspora residing in various countries without a national state,
the Zionist movement was founded in the late 19th century by secular Jews, largely as a response by
Ashkenazi Jews to rising antisemitism in Europe, exemplified by the Dreyfus affair in France and the anti-
Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire.[31] The political movement was formally established by the
Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl in 1897 following the publication of his book Der Judenstaat
(The Jewish State).[32] At that time, the movement sought to encourage Jewish migration to Ottoman
Palestine.

"I believe that a wondrous generation of Jews will spring into existence. The Maccabeans will rise again.
Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who wish for a State will have it. We shall live at
last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes. The world will be freed by our
liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to
accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity."

Theodore Herzl, concluding words of The Jewish State, 1896[33]

Although initially one of several Jewish political movements offering alternative responses to
assimilation and antisemitism, Zionism expanded rapidly. In its early stages, supporters considered
setting up a Jewish state in the historic territory of Palestine. After World War II and the destruction of
Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe where these alternative movements were rooted, it became
dominant in the thinking about a Jewish national state.

Creating an alliance with Great Britain and securing support for some years for Jewish emigration to
Palestine, Zionists also recruited European Jews to immigrate there, especially Jews who lived in areas of
the Russian Empire where anti-semitism was raging. The alliance with Britain was strained as the latter
realized the implications of the Jewish movement for Arabs in Palestine, but the Zionists persisted. The
movement was eventually successful in establishing Israel on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyyar 5708 in the Hebrew
calendar), as the homeland for the Jewish people. The proportion of the world's Jews living in Israel has
steadily grown since the movement emerged. By the early 21st century, more than 40% of the world's
Jews lived in Israel, more than in any other country. These two outcomes represent the historical
success of Zionism, and are unmatched by any other Jewish political movement in the past 2,000 years.
In some academic studies, Zionism has been analyzed both within the larger context of diaspora politics
and as an example of modern national liberation movements.[34]

Zionism also sought assimilation of Jews into the modern world. As a result of the diaspora, many of the
Jewish people remained outsiders within their adopted countries and became detached from modern
ideas. So-called "assimilationist" Jews desired complete integration into European society. They were
willing to downplay their Jewish identity and in some cases to abandon traditional views and opinions in
an attempt at modernization and assimilation into the modern world. A less extreme form of
assimilation was called cultural synthesis. Those in favor of cultural synthesis desired continuity and only
moderate evolution, and were concerned that Jews should not lose their identity as a people. "Cultural
synthesists" emphasized both a need to maintain traditional Jewish values and faith, and a need to
conform to a modernist society, for instance, in complying with work days and rules.[35]

In 1975, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, which designated Zionism as "a
form of racism and racial discrimination". The resolution was repealed in 1991 by replacing Resolution
3379 with Resolution 46/86. Opposition to Zionism (being against a Jewish state), according to historian
Geoffrey Alderman, can be legitimately described as racist.[36][37]

Beliefs

Main articles: Return to Zion, Sabra (person), Aliyah, Racial antisemitism, New antisemitism, Religious
antisemitism, and Revival of the Hebrew language

See also: Yiddish, Ladino language, and Hebraization of surnames

Zionism was established with the political goal of creating a Jewish state in order to create a nation
where Jews could be the majority, rather than the minority which they were in a variety of nations in
the diaspora. Theodor Herzl, the ideological father of Zionism, considered Antisemitism to be an eternal
feature of all societies in which Jews lived as minorities, and that only a separation could allow Jews to
escape eternal persecution. "Let them give us sovereignty over a piece of the Earth's surface, just
sufficient for the needs of our people, then we will do the rest!" he proclaimed exposing his plan.[38] :p.27
(29)

Herzl proposed two possible destinations to colonize, Argentina and Palestine. He preferred Argentina
for its vast and sparsely populated territory and temperate climate, but conceded that Palestine would
have greater attraction because of the historic ties of Jews with that area.[38] He also accepted to
evaluate Joseph Chamberlain's proposal for possible Jewish settlement in Great Britain's East African
colonies.[39]:pp.55–56

Aliyah (migration, literally "ascent") to the Land of Israel is a recurring theme in Jewish prayers.
Rejection of life in the Diaspora is a central assumption in Zionism.[40] Supporters of Zionism believed
that Jews in the Diaspora were prevented from their full growth in Jewish individual and national
life.[citation needed]
Zionists generally preferred to speak Hebrew, a Semitic language that developed under conditions of
freedom in ancient Judah, and worked to modernize and adapt it for everyday use. Zionists sometimes
refused to speak Yiddish, a language they thought had developed in the context of European
persecution. Once they moved to Israel, many Zionists refused to speak their (diasporic) mother tongues
and adopted new, Hebrew names. Hebrew was preferred not only for ideological reasons, but also
because it allowed all citizens of the new state to have a common language, thus furthering the political
and cultural bonds among Zionists.[citation needed]

Major aspects of the Zionist idea are represented in the Israeli Declaration of Independence:

The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political
identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and
universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and
never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political
freedom.

Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-
establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses.[41]

History

Main articles: History of Zionism, Proto-Zionism, and History of Israel

Population of Palestine by ethno-religious groups, excluding nomads[42]

Total
Year Muslims Jews Christians Others
Settled

1922 486,177 (74.9%) 83,790 (12.9%) 71,464 (11.0%) 7,617 (1.2%) 649,048

1931 693,147 (71.7%) 174,606 (18.1%) 88,907 (9.2%) 10,101 (1.0%) 966,761

1941 906,551 (59.7%) 474,102 (31.2%) 125,413 (8.3%) 12,881 (0.8%) 1,518,947

1946 1,076,783 (58.3%) 608,225 (33.0%) 145,063 (7.9%) 15,488 (0.8%) 1,845,559

The delegates at the First Zionist Congress, held in Basel, Switzerland (1897)
Lord Shaftesbury's "Memorandum to Protestant Monarchs of Europe for the restoration of the Jews to
Palestine", published in the Colonial Times, in 1841

Since the first centuries of the CE, most Jews have lived outside the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel, better
known as Palestine), although there has been a constant minority presence of Jews. According to
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Eretz Israel is a land promised to the Jews by God according to the
Hebrew and Greek Bibles and the Quran, respectively.[43][44] The Diaspora began in 586 BCE during the
Babylonian occupation of Israel. The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, which was central to
Jewish culture at the time. After the 1st-century Great Revolt and the 2nd-century Bar Kokhba revolt,
the Roman Empire expelled the Jews from Judea, changing the name to Syria Palaestina. The Bar
Kokhba revolt caused a spike in anti-Semitism and Jewish persecution. The ensuing exile from Judea
greatly increased the percent of Jews who were dispersed throughout the Diaspora instead of living in
their original home.[citation needed]

Zion is a hill near Jerusalem (now in the city), widely symbolizing the Land of Israel.[45]

In the middle of the 16th century, Joseph Nasi, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, tried to gather
the Portuguese Jews, first to migrate to Cyprus, then owned by the Republic of Venice, and later to
resettle in Tiberias. Nasi – who never converted to Islam[46][47][fn 2] – eventually obtained the highest
medical position in the empire, and actively participated in court life. He convinced Suleiman I to
intervene with the Pope on behalf of Ottoman-subject Portuguese Jews imprisoned in Ancona.[46]
Between the 4th and 19th centuries, Nasi's was the only practical attempt to establish some sort of
Jewish political center in Palestine.[48]

In the 17th century Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676) announced himself as the Messiah and gained many Jews
to his side, forming a base in Salonika. He first tried to establish a settlement in Gaza, but moved later to
Smyrna. After deposing the old rabbi Aaron Lapapa in the spring of 1666, the Jewish community of
Avignon, France prepared to emigrate to the new kingdom. The readiness of the Jews of the time to
believe the messianic claims of Sabbatai Zevi may be largely explained by the desperate state of Central
European Jewry in the mid-17th century. The bloody pogroms of Bohdan Khmelnytsky had wiped out
one-third of the Jewish population and destroyed many centers of Jewish learning and communal life.[49]

In the 19th century, a current in Judaism supporting a return to Zion grew in popularity,[50] particularly in
Europe, where antisemitism and hostility toward Jews were growing. The idea of returning to Palestine
was rejected by the conferences of rabbis held in that epoch. Individual efforts supported the
emigration of groups of Jews to Palestine, pre-Zionist Aliyah, even before 1897, the year considered as
the start of practical Zionism.[51]

The Reformed Jews rejected this idea of a return to Zion. The conference of rabbis, at Frankfurt am
Main, July 15–28, 1845, deleted from the ritual all prayers for a return to Zion and a restoration of a
Jewish state. The Philadelphia Conference, 1869, followed the lead of the German rabbis and decreed
that the Messianic hope of Israel is "the union of all the children of God in the confession of the unity of
God". The Pittsburgh Conference, 1885, reiterated this Messianic idea of reformed Judaism, expressing
in a resolution that "we consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community; and we
therefore expect neither a return to Palestine, nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the
restoration of any of the laws concerning a Jewish state".[52]
Jewish settlements were proposed for establishment in the upper Mississippi region by W.D. Robinson
in 1819.[53] Others were developed near Jerusalem in 1850, by the American Consul Warder Cresson, a
convert to Judaism. Cresson was tried and condemned for lunacy in a suit filed by his wife and son. They
asserted that only a lunatic would convert to Judaism from Christianity. After a second trial, based on
the centrality of American 'freedom of faith' issues and antisemitism, Cresson won the bitterly contested
suit.[54] He emigrated to Ottoman Palestine and established an agricultural colony in the Valley of
Rephaim of Jerusalem. He hoped to "prevent any attempts being made to take advantage of the
necessities of our poor brethren ... (that would) ... FORCE them into a pretended conversion."[55]

Moral but not practical efforts were made in Prague to organize a Jewish emigration, by Abraham
Benisch and Moritz Steinschneider in 1835. In the United States, Mordecai Noah attempted to establish
a Jewish refuge opposite Buffalo, New York on Grand Isle, 1825. These early Jewish nation building
efforts of Cresson, Benisch, Steinschneider and Noah failed.[56][page needed][57]

The Great Synagogue of Rishon LeZion was founded in 1885.

Sir Moses Montefiore, famous for his intervention in favor of Jews around the world, including the
attempt to rescue Edgardo Mortara, established a colony for Jews in Palestine. In 1854, his friend Judah
Touro bequeathed money to fund Jewish residential settlement in Palestine. Montefiore was appointed
executor of his will, and used the funds for a variety of projects, including building in 1860 the first
Jewish residential settlement and almshouse outside of the old walled city of Jerusalem—today known
as Mishkenot Sha'ananim. Laurence Oliphant failed in a like attempt to bring to Palestine the Jewish
proletariat of Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and the Turkish Empire (1879 and 1882).

The official beginning of the construction of the New Yishuv in Palestine is usually dated to the arrival of
the Bilu group in 1882, who commenced the First Aliyah. In the following years, Jewish immigration to
Palestine started in earnest. Most immigrants came from the Russian Empire, escaping the frequent
pogroms and state-led persecution in what are now Ukraine and Poland. They founded a number of
agricultural settlements with financial support from Jewish philanthropists in Western Europe.
Additional Aliyahs followed the Russian Revolution and its eruption of violent pogroms.[citation needed] At the
end of the 19th century, Jews were a small minority in Palestine.[citation needed]

In the 1890s, Theodor Herzl infused Zionism with a new ideology and practical urgency, leading to the
First Zionist Congress at Basel in 1897, which created the World Zionist Organization (WZO).[58] Herzl's
aim was to initiate necessary preparatory steps for the development of a Jewish state. Herzl's attempts
to reach a political agreement with the Ottoman rulers of Palestine were unsuccessful and he sought the
support of other governments. The WZO supported small-scale settlement in Palestine; it focused on
strengthening Jewish feeling and consciousness and on building a worldwide federation.[citation needed]
The Russian Empire, with its long record of state-organized genocide[citation needed] and ethnic
cleansing[citation needed] ("pogroms"), was widely regarded as the historic enemy of the Jewish people. The
Zionist movement's headquarters were located in Berlin, as many of its leaders were German Jews who
spoke German.

Territories considered

Main articles: Jewish territorialism and Proposals for a Jewish state

Throughout the first decade of the Zionist movement, there were several instances where Zionist figures
supported a Jewish state in places outside Palestine, such as Uganda and Argentina.[59] Even Theodor
Herzl, the founder of political Zionism was initially content with any Jewish self-governed state.[60]
However, other Zionists emphasized the memory, emotion and myth linking Jews to the Land of
Israel.[61] Despite using Zion as the name of the movement (a name after the Jebusite fortress in
Jerusalem, which became synonymous with Jerusalem), Palestine only became Herzl's main focus after
his Zionist manifesto 'Judenstaat' was published in 1896, but even then he was hesitant.[62]

In 1903, British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain offered Herzl 5,000 square miles in the Uganda
Protectorate for Jewish settlement.[63] Called the Uganda Scheme, it was introduced the same year to
the World Zionist Organization's Congress at its sixth meeting, where a fierce debate ensued. Some
groups felt that accepting the scheme would make it more difficult to establish a Jewish state in
Palestine, the African land was described as an "ante-chamber to the Holy Land". It was decided to send
a commission to investigate the proposed land by 295 to 177 votes, with 132 abstaining. The following
year, congress sent a delegation to inspect the plateau. A temperate climate due to its high elevation,
was thought to be suitable for European settlement. However, the area was populated by a large
number of Maasai, who did not seem to favour an influx of Europeans. Furthermore, the delegation
found it to be filled with lions and other animals.

After Herzl died in 1904, the Congress decided on the fourth day of its seventh session in July 1905 to
decline the British offer and, according to Adam Rovner, "direct all future settlement efforts solely to
Palestine".[63][64] Israel Zangwill's Jewish Territorialist Organization aimed for a Jewish state anywhere,
having been established in 1903 in response to the Uganda Scheme, was supported by a number of the
Congress's delegates. Following the vote, which had been proposed by Max Nordau, Zangwill charged
Nordau that he “will be charged before the bar of history,” and his supporters blamed the Russian
voting bloc of Menachem Ussishkin for the outcome of the vote.[64]

The subsequent departure of the JTO from the Zionist Organization had little impact.[63][65][66] The Zionist
Socialist Workers Party was also an organization that favored the idea of a Jewish territorial autonomy
outside of Palestine.[67]

As an alternative to Zionism, Soviet authorities established a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in 1934, which
remains extant as the only autonomous oblast of Russia.[68]

Balfour Declaration and the Palestine Mandate

Main articles: Balfour Declaration and British Mandate for Palestine (legal instrument)
Palestine as claimed by the World Zionist Organization in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference

Lobbying by Russian Jewish immigrant Chaim Weizmann together with fear that American Jews would
encourage the US to support Germany in the war against communist Russia, culminated in the British
government's Balfour Declaration of 1917.

It endorsed the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, as follows:

His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the
Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being
clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of
existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any
other country.[69]

During the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, an Inter-Allied Commission was sent to Palestine to assess the
views of the local population; the report summarized the arguments received from petitioners for and
against Zionism.

In 1922, the League of Nations adopted the declaration, and granted to Britain the Palestine Mandate:

The Mandate will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home ... and the development of self-
governing institutions, and also safeguard the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine,
irrespective of race and religion.[70]

Weizmann's role in obtaining the Balfour Declaration led to his election as the Zionist movement's
leader. He remained in that role until 1948, and then was elected as the first President of Israel after the
nation gained independence.

A number of high-level representatives of the international Jewish women's community participated in

the First World Congress of Jewish Women, which was held in Vienna, Austria, in May 1923. One of the
main resolutions was: "It appears ... to be the duty of all Jews to co-operate in the social-economic
reconstruction of Palestine and to assist in the settlement of Jews in that country."[71]

Jewish migration to Palestine and widespread Jewish land purchases from feudal[citation needed] landlords
contributed to landlessness among Palestinian Arabs, fueling unrest. Riots erupted in Palestine in 1920,
1921 and 1929, in which both Jews and Arabs were killed.[72] Britain was responsible for the Palestinian
mandate and, after the Balfour Declaration, it supported Jewish immigration in principle. But, in
response to the violent events noted above, the Peel Commission published a report proposing new
provisions and restrictions in Palestine.[citation needed]

In 1927, Ukrainian Jew Yitzhak Lamdan wrote an epic poem titled Masada to reflect the plight of the
Jews, calling for a "last stand".[73] In 1941, Theodore Newman Kaufman published Germany Must Perish!
which argued that only the dismemberment of Germany would lead to world peace. Anti-German
articles, such as the Daily Express calling for an "Anti-Nazi boycott", in response to German antisemitism
were published during Adolf Hitler's rise, as well. This has given birth to the conspiracy theory that Jews
started the holocaust, although the Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels was largely responsible
for ignoring the patriotic Jew, and for instead promoting anti-German materials as "evidence" that the
Jews needed to be eradicated.

Rise of Hitler

In 1933, Hitler came to power in Germany, and in 1935 the Nuremberg Laws made German Jews (and
later Austrian and Czech Jews) stateless refugees. Similar rules were applied by the many Nazi allies in
Europe. The subsequent growth in Jewish migration and the impact of Nazi propaganda aimed at the
Arab world led to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. Britain established the Peel Commission to
investigate the situation. The commission did not consider the situation of Jews in Europe, but called for
a two-state solution and compulsory transfer of populations. Britain rejected this solution and instead
implemented the White Paper of 1939. This planned to end Jewish immigration by 1944 and to allow no
more than 75,000 additional Jewish migrants. At the end of the five-year period in 1944, only 51,000 of
the 75,000 immigration certificates provided for had been utilized, and the British offered to allow
immigration to continue beyond cutoff date of 1944, at a rate of 1500 per month, until the remaining
quota was filled.[74][75] According to Arieh Kochavi, at the end of the war, the Mandatory Government
had 10,938 certificates remaining and gives more details about government policy at the time.[74] The
British maintained the policies of the 1939 White Paper until the end of the Mandate.[76]

The growth of the Jewish community in Palestine and the devastation of European Jewish life sidelined
the World Zionist Organization. The Jewish Agency for Palestine under the leadership of David Ben-
Gurion increasingly dictated policy with support from American Zionists who provided funding and
influence in Washington, D.C., including via the highly effective American Palestine Committee.[citation
needed]
David Ben-Gurion proclaiming Israel's independence beneath a large portrait of Theodor Herzl

During World War II, as the horrors of the Holocaust became known, the Zionist leadership formulated
the One Million Plan, a reduction from Ben-Gurion's previous target of two million immigrants.
Following the end of the war, a massive wave of stateless Jews, mainly Holocaust survivors, began
migrating to Palestine in small boats in defiance of British rules. The Holocaust united much of the rest
of world Jewry behind the Zionist project.[77] The British either imprisoned these Jews in Cyprus or sent
them to the British-controlled Allied Occupation Zones in Germany. The British, having faced the 1936–
1939 Arab revolt against mass Jewish immigration into Palestine, were now facing opposition by Zionist
groups in Palestine for subsequent restrictions. In January 1946 the Anglo-American Committee of
Inquiry was a joint British and American committee set up to examine the political, economic and social
conditions in Palestine as they bore upon the problem of Jewish immigration and settlement and the
well-being of the peoples living there; to consult representatives of Arabs and Jews, and to make other
recommendations 'as necessary' for an interim handling of these problems as well as for their eventual
solution.[78] Following the failure of the 1946–47 London Conference on Palestine, at which the United
States refused to support the British leading to both the Morrison–Grady Plan and the Bevin Plan being
rejected by all parties, the British decided to refer the question to the UN on 14 February 1947.[79][fn 3]

Post-WWII
Arab offensive at the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

With the German invasion of Russia in 1941, Stalin reversed his long-standing opposition to Zionism, and
tried to mobilize worldwide Jewish support for the Soviet war effort. A Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
was set up in Moscow. Many thousands of Jewish refugees fled the Nazis and entered the Soviet Union
during the war, where they reinvigorated Jewish religious activities and opened new synagogues.[80] In
May 1947 Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko told the United Nations that the USSR
supported the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. The USSR formally voted that way
in the UN in November 1947.[81] However once Israel was established, Stalin reversed positions,
favoured the Arabs, arrested the leaders of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and launched attacks on
Jews in the USSR.[82]

In 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine recommended that western Palestine
should be partitioned into a Jewish state, an Arab state and a UN-controlled territory, Corpus
separatum, around Jerusalem.[83] This partition plan was adopted on November 29, 1947 with UN GA
Resolution 181, 33 votes in favor, 13 against, and 10 abstentions. The vote led to celebrations in Jewish
communities and protests in Arab communities throughout Palestine.[84] Violence throughout the
country, previously a Jewish insurgency against the British, with some sporadic Jewish-Arab fighting,
spiralled into the 1947–1949 Palestine war. The conflict led to an exodus of about 711,000 Palestinian
Arabs,[85] known in Arabic as al-Nakba ("the Catastrophe"). More than a quarter had already fled prior to
the declaration of the State of Israel and the start of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, a series of laws
passed by the first Israeli government prevented Palestinians from returning to their homes, or claiming
their property. They and many of their descendants remain refugees.[86][87] The flight and expulsion of
the Palestinians has since been widely, and controversially, described as having involved ethnic
cleansing.[88][89] According to a growing consensus between Israeli and Palestinian historians, expulsion
and destruction of villages played a part in the origin of the Palestinian refugees.[90] Efraim Karsh,
however, states that most of the Arabs who fled left of their own accord or were pressured to leave by
their fellow Arabs[dubious – discuss], despite Israeli attempts to convince them to stay.[91][92][undue weight? – discuss]
Yemenite Jews on their way to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet

Since the creation of the State of Israel, the World Zionist Organization has functioned mainly as an
organization dedicated to assisting and encouraging Jews to migrate to Israel. It has provided political
support for Israel in other countries but plays little role in internal Israeli politics. The movement's major
success since 1948 was in providing logistical support for migrating Jews and, most importantly, in
assisting Soviet Jews in their struggle with the authorities over the right to leave the USSR and to
practice their religion in freedom, and the exodus of 850,000 Jews from the Arab world, mostly to Israel.
In 1944–45, Ben-Gurion described the One Million Plan to foreign officials as being the "primary goal
and top priority of the Zionist movement."[93] The immigration restrictions of the British White Paper of
1939 meant that such a plan could not be put into large scale effect until the Israeli Declaration of
Independence in May 1948. The new country's immigration policy had some opposition within the new
Israeli government, such as those who argued that there was "no justification for organizing large-scale
emigration among Jews whose lives were not in danger, particularly when the desire and motivation
were not their own"[94] as well as those who argued that the absorption process caused "undue
hardship".[95] However, the force of Ben-Gurion's influence and insistence ensured that his immigration
policy was carried out.[96][97]

Types

Main article: Types of Zionism

Members and delegates at the 1939 Zionist congress, by country/region (Zionism was banned in the
Soviet Union). 70,000 Polish Jews supported the Revisionist Zionism movement, which was not
represented.[98]

Country/Region Members Delegates

Poland 299,165 109

USA 263,741 114

Palestine 167,562 134

Romania 60,013 28

United Kingdom 23,513 15

South Africa 22,343 14

 Canada 15,220 8

The multi-national, worldwide Zionist movement is structured on representative democratic principles.

Congresses are held every four years (they were held every two years before the Second World War)
and delegates to the congress are elected by the membership. Members are required to pay dues
known as a shekel. At the congress, delegates elect a 30-man executive council, which in turn elects the
movement's leader. The movement was democratic from its inception and women had the right to
vote.[99]

Until 1917, the World Zionist Organization pursued a strategy of building a Jewish National Home
through persistent small-scale immigration and the founding of such bodies as the Jewish National Fund
(1901 – a charity that bought land for Jewish settlement) and the Anglo-Palestine Bank (1903 – provided
loans for Jewish businesses and farmers). In 1942, at the Biltmore Conference, the movement included
for the first time an express objective of the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.[100]

The 28th Zionist Congress, meeting in Jerusalem in 1968, adopted the five points of the "Jerusalem
Program" as the aims of Zionism today. They are:[101]

 Unity of the Jewish People and the centrality of Israel in Jewish life

 Ingathering of the Jewish People in its historic homeland, Eretz Israel, through Aliyah from all
countries

 Strengthening of the State of Israel, based on the prophetic vision of justice and peace

 Preservation of the identity of the Jewish People through fostering of Jewish and Hebrew
education, and of Jewish spiritual and cultural values

 Protection of Jewish rights everywhere

Since the creation of modern Israel, the role of the movement has declined. It is now a peripheral factor
in Israeli politics, though different perceptions of Zionism continue to play roles in Israeli and Jewish
political discussion.[102]

Labor Zionism

Main article: Labor Zionism

Israeli author Amos Oz, who today is described as the 'aristocrat' of Labor Zionism[103]

Israeli Jewish youth from the Socialist Zionist youth movement No'al, meeting with Jewish resistance
fighter Simcha Rotem. Founded in 1924, No'al is one of the largest Zionist Youth movements.

Labor Zionism originated in Eastern Europe. Socialist Zionists believed that centuries of oppression in
antisemitic societies had reduced Jews to a meek, vulnerable, despairing existence that invited further
antisemitism, a view originally stipulated by Theodor Herzl. They argued that a revolution of the Jewish
soul and society was necessary and achievable in part by Jews moving to Israel and becoming farmers,
workers, and soldiers in a country of their own. Most socialist Zionists rejected the observance of
traditional religious Judaism as perpetuating a "Diaspora mentality" among the Jewish people, and
established rural communes in Israel called "kibbutzim". The kibbutz began as a variation on a "national
farm" scheme, a form of cooperative agriculture where the Jewish National Fund hired Jewish workers
under trained supervision. The kibbutzim were a symbol of the Second Aliyah in that they put great
emphasis on communalism and egalitarianism, representing Utopian socialism to a certain extent.
Furthermore, they stressed self-sufficiency, which became an essential aspect of Labor Zionism. Though
socialist Zionism draws its inspiration and is philosophically founded on the fundamental values and
spirituality of Judaism, its progressive expression of that Judaism has often fostered an antagonistic
relationship with Orthodox Judaism.[citation needed]

Labor Zionism became the dominant force in the political and economic life of the Yishuv during the
British Mandate of Palestine and was the dominant ideology of the political establishment in Israel until
the 1977 election when the Israeli Labor Party was defeated. The Israeli Labor Party continues the
tradition, although the most popular party in the kibbutzim is Meretz.[104] Labor Zionism's main
institution is the Histadrut (general organisation of labor unions), which began by providing
strikebreakers against a Palestinian worker's strike in 1920 and until 1970s was the largest employer in
Israel after the Israeli government.[105]

Liberal Zionism

Main article: General Zionists

Kibbutznikiyot (female Kibbutz members) in Mishmar HaEmek, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The
Kibbutz is the historical heartland of Labor Zionism.

General Zionism (or Liberal Zionism) was initially the dominant trend within the Zionist movement from
the First Zionist Congress in 1897 until after the First World War. General Zionists identified with the
liberal European middle class to which many Zionist leaders such as Herzl and Chaim Weizmann aspired.
Liberal Zionism, although not associated with any single party in modern Israel, remains a strong trend
in Israeli politics advocating free market principles, democracy and adherence to human rights. Their
political arm was one of ancestors of the modern-day Likud. Kadima, the main centrist party during the
2000s that split from Likud and is now defunct, however, did identify with many of the fundamental
policies of Liberal Zionist ideology, advocating among other things the need for Palestinian statehood in
order to form a more democratic society in Israel, affirming the free market, and calling for equal rights
for Arab citizens of Israel. In 2013, Ari Shavit suggested that the success of the then-new Yesh Atid party
(representing secular, middle-class interests) embodied the success of "the new General Zionists."[106]

Dror Zeigerman writes that the traditional positions of the General Zionists—"liberal positions based on
social justice, on law and order, on pluralism in matters of State and Religion, and on moderation and
flexibility in the domain of foreign policy and security"—are still favored by important circles and
currents within certain active political parties.[107]

Philosopher Carlo Strenger describes a modern-day version of Liberal Zionism (supporting his vision of
"Knowledge-Nation Israel"), rooted in the original ideology of Herzl and Ahad Ha'am, that stands in
contrast to both the romantic nationalism of the right and the Netzah Yisrael of the ultra-Orthodox. It is
marked by a concern for democratic values and human rights, freedom to criticize government policies
without accusations of disloyalty, and rejection of excessive religious influence in public life. "Liberal
Zionism celebrates the most authentic traits of the Jewish tradition: the willingness for incisive debate;
the contrarian spirit of davka; the refusal to bow to authoritarianism."[108][109] Liberal Zionists see that
"Jewish history shows that Jews need and are entitled to a nation-state of their own. But they also think
that this state must be a liberal democracy, which means that there must be strict equality before the
law independent of religion, ethnicity or gender."[110]

Revisionist Zionism

Main article: Revisionist Zionism

Ze'ev Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism

Revisionist Zionists, led by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, developed what became known as Nationalist Zionism,
whose guiding principles were outlined in the 1923 essay Iron Wall. In 1935 the Revisionists left the
World Zionist Organization because it refused to state that the creation of a Jewish state was an
objective of Zionism.
Jabotinsky believed that,

Zionism is a colonising adventure and it therefore stands or falls by the question of armed force. It is
important to build, it is important to speak Hebrew, but, unfortunately, it is even more important to be
able to shoot—or else I am through with playing at colonization.[111][112]

and that

Although the Jews originated in the East, they belonged to the West culturally, morally, and spiritually.
Zionism was conceived by Jabotinsky not as the return of the Jews to their spiritual homeland but as an
offshoot or implant of Western civilization in the East. This worldview translated into a geostrategic
conception in which Zionism was to be permanently allied with European colonialism against all the
Arabs in the eastern Mediterranean.[113]

The revisionists advocated the formation of a Jewish Army in Palestine to force the Arab population to
accept mass Jewish migration.

Supporters of Revisionist Zionism developed the Likud Party in Israel, which has dominated most
governments since 1977. It advocates Israel's maintaining control of the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, and takes a hard-line approach in the Arab–Israeli conflict. In 2005, the Likud split over the
issue of creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied territories. Party members advocating peace talks
helped form the Kadima Party.[114]

Religious Zionism

The 15th-century Abuhav synagogue, established by Sephardic Jews in Safed, Northern Israel.[115]

Main article: Religious Zionism

Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and observant Judaism. Before the
establishment of the State of Israel, Religious Zionists were mainly observant Jews who supported
Zionist efforts to build a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

After the Six-Day War and the capture of the West Bank, a territory referred to in Jewish terms as Judea
and Samaria, right-wing components of the Religious Zionist movement integrated nationalist
revindication and evolved into Neo-Zionism. Their ideology revolves around three pillars: the Land of
Israel, the People of Israel and the Torah of Israel.[116]

Green Zionism
Main article: Green Zionism

Green Zionism is a branch of Zionism primarily concerned with the environment of Israel. The only
specifically environmentalist Zionist party is the Green Zionist Alliance.[citation needed]

Post-Zionism

During the last quarter of the 20th century, classic nationalism in Israel declined. This led to the rise of
post-Zionism. Post-Zionism asserts that Israel should abandon the concept of a "state of the Jewish
people" and strive to be a state of all its citizens,[117] or a binational state where Arabs and Jews live
together while enjoying some type of autonomy.[citation needed]

Non-Jewish support

Political support for the Jewish return to the Land of Israel predates the formal organization of Jewish
Zionism as a political movement. In the 19th century, advocates of the restoration of the Jews to the
Holy Land were called Restorationists. The return of the Jews to the Holy Land was widely supported by
such eminent figures as Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte,[118] King Edward VII, President John Adams
of the United States, General Smuts of South Africa, President Masaryk of Czechoslovakia, philosopher
and historian Benedetto Croce from Italy, Henry Dunant (founder of the Red Cross and author of the
Geneva Conventions), and scientist and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen from Norway.[citation needed]

The French government, through Minister M. Cambon, formally committed itself to "... the renaissance
of the Jewish nationality in that Land from which the people of Israel were exiled so many centuries
ago."[119]

In China, top figures of the Nationalist government, including Sun Yat-sen, expressed their sympathy
with the aspirations of the Jewish people for a National Home.[120]

Christian Zionism

Main article: Christian Zionism

See also: Christian Zionism in the United Kingdom

Martin Luther King Jr. was a notable Christian supporter of Israel and Zionism.[121]

Some Christians have actively supported the return of Jews to Palestine even prior to the rise of Zionism,
as well as subsequently. Anita Shapira, a history professor emerita at Tel Aviv University, suggests that
evangelical Christian restorationists of the 1840s 'passed this notion on to Jewish circles'.[122] Evangelical
Christian anticipation of and political lobbying within the UK for Restorationism was widespread in the
1820s and common beforehand.[123] It was common among the Puritans to anticipate and frequently to
pray for a Jewish return to their homeland.[124][125][126]

One of the principal Protestant teachers who promoted the biblical doctrine that the Jews would return
to their national homeland was John Nelson Darby. His doctrine of dispensationalism is credited with
promoting Zionism, following his 11 lectures on the hopes of the church, the Jew and the gentile given in
Geneva in 1840.[127] However, others like C H Spurgeon,[128] both Horatius[129] and Andrew Bonar, Robert
Murray M'Chyene,[130] and J C Ryle[131] were among a number of prominent proponents of both the
importance and significance of a Jewish return, who were not dispensationalist. Pro-Zionist views were
embraced by many evangelicals and also affected international foreign policy.

The Russian Orthodox ideologue Hippolytus Lutostansky, also known as the author of multiple
antisemitic tracts, insisted in 1911 that Russian Jews should be "helped" to move to Palestine "as their
rightful place is in their former kingdom of Palestine".[132]

Notable early supporters of Zionism include British Prime Ministers David Lloyd George and Arthur
Balfour, American President Woodrow Wilson and British Major-General Orde Wingate, whose activities
in support of Zionism led the British Army to ban him from ever serving in Palestine. According to
Charles Merkley of Carleton University, Christian Zionism strengthened significantly after the Six-Day
War of 1967, and many dispensationalist and non-dispensationalist evangelical Christians, especially
Christians in the United States, now strongly support Zionism.[citation needed]

Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong supporter of Israel and Zionism,[121] although the Letter to an Anti-
Zionist Friend is a work falsely attributed to him.

In the last years of his life, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, declared, "the
time for Jews to return to the land of Israel is now." In 1842, Smith sent Orson Hyde, an Apostle of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Jerusalem to dedicate the land for the return of the
Jews.[133]

Some Arab Christians publicly supporting Israel include US author Nonie Darwish, and former Muslim
Magdi Allam, author of Viva Israele,[134] both born in Egypt. Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese-born Christian
US journalist and founder of the American Congress for Truth, urges Americans to "fearlessly speak out
in defense of America, Israel and Western civilization".[135]

Muslim Zionism

Main article: Muslim Zionism

Israeli Druze Scouts march to Jethro's tomb. Today, thousands of Israeli Druze belong to 'Druze Zionist'
movements.[136]
Muslims who have publicly defended Zionism include Dr. Tawfik Hamid, Islamic thinker and reformer[137]
and former member of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Islamist militant group that is designated as a terrorist
organization by the United States and European Union,[138] Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Director of
the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community[139] and Tashbih Sayyed, a Pakistani-American
scholar, journalist, and author.[140]

On occasion, some non-Arab Muslims such as some Kurds and Berbers have also voiced support for
Zionism.[141][142][143]

While most Israeli Druze identify as ethnically Arab,[144] today, tens of thousands of Israeli Druze belong
to "Druze Zionist" movements.[136]

During the Palestine Mandate era, As'ad Shukeiri, a Muslim scholar ('alim) of the Acre area, and the
father of PLO founder Ahmad Shukeiri, rejected the values of the Palestinian Arab national movement
and was opposed to the anti-Zionist movement.[145] He met routinely with Zionist officials and had a part
in every pro-Zionist Arab organization from the beginning of the British Mandate, publicly rejecting
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni's use of Islam to attack Zionism.[146]

Some Indian Muslims have also expressed opposition to Islamic anti-Zionism. In August 2007, a
delegation of the All India Organization of Imams and mosques led by its president Maulana Jamil Ilyas
visited Israel. The meeting led to a joint statement expressing "peace and goodwill from Indian
Muslims", developing dialogue between Indian Muslims and Israeli Jews, and rejecting the perception
that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is of a religious nature.[147] The visit was organized by the American
Jewish Committee. The purpose of the visit was to promote meaningful debate about the status of Israel
in the eyes of Muslims worldwide, and to strengthen the relationship between India and Israel. It is
suggested that the visit could "open Muslim minds across the world to understand the democratic
nature of the state of Israel, especially in the Middle East".[148]

Hindu support for Zionism

Main articles: India–Israel relations and Hindu Nationalism

After Israel's creation in 1948, the Indian National Congress government opposed Zionism. Some writers
have claimed that this was done in order to get more Muslim votes in India (where Muslims numbered
over 30 million at the time).[149] However, conservative Hindu nationalists, led by the Sangh Parivar,
openly supported Zionism, as did Hindu Nationalist intellectuals like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Sita
Ram Goel.[150] Zionism, seen as a national liberation movement for the repatriation of the Jewish people
to their homeland then under British colonial rule, appealed to many Hindu Nationalists, who viewed
their struggle for independence from British rule and the Partition of India as national liberation for
long-oppressed Hindus.

An international opinion survey has shown that India is the most pro-Israel country in the world.[151] In
more current times, conservative Indian parties and organizations tend to support Zionism.[150][152] This
has invited attacks on the Hindutva movement by parts of the Indian left opposed to Zionism, and
allegations that Hindus are conspiring with the "Jewish Lobby."[153]

Anti-Zionism

Main articles: Anti-Zionism and Timeline of Anti-Zionism

See also: Non-Zionism, New Antisemitism, Criticism of the Israeli government, and Zionist Occupation
Government conspiracy theory

The Palestinian Arab Christian-owned Falastin newspaper featuring a caricature on its 18 June 1936
edition showing Zionism as a crocodile under the protection of a British officer telling Palestinian Arabs:
"don't be afraid!!! I will swallow you peacefully...".[154]

Zionism is opposed by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. Among those opposing Zionism
are some secular Jews,[155] some branches of Judaism (Satmar Hasidim and Neturei Karta), the former
Soviet Union,[156] many in the Muslim world, and Palestinians. Reasons for opposing Zionism are varied,
and they include: the perception that land confiscations are unfair; expulsions of Palestinians; violence
against Palestinians; and alleged racism. Arab states in particular strongly oppose Zionism, which they
believe is responsible for the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The preamble of the African Charter on Human
and Peoples' Rights, which has been ratified by 53 African countries as of 2014, includes an undertaking
to eliminate Zionism together with other practices including colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid,
"aggressive foreign military bases" and all forms of discrimination.[157][158]

Zionism was also opposed for other reasons by some Jews even before the establishment of the state of
Israel because "Zionism constitutes a danger, both spiritual and physical, to the existence of our
people".[159][page needed]

In 1945 US President Franklin D Roosevelt met with king Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. Ibn Saud pointed out
that it was Germany who had committed crimes against the Jews and so Germany should be punished.
Palestinian Arabs had done no harm to European Jews and did not deserve to be punished by losing
their land. Roosevelt on return to the US concluded that Israel "could only be established and
maintained by force."[160]

Catholic Church and Zionism

Main articles: Holy See–Israel relations, Supersessionism § Roman Catholicism, and Christianity and
antisemitism

The initial response of the Catholic Church seemed to be one of strong opposition to Zionism. Shortly
after the 1897 Basel Conference, the semi-official Vatican periodical (edited by the Jesuits) Civiltà
Cattolica gave its biblical-theological judgement on political Zionism: "1827 years have passed since the
prediction of Jesus of Nazareth was fulfilled ... that [after the destruction of Jerusalem] the Jews would
be led away to be slaves among all the nations and that they would remain in the dispersion [diaspora,
galut] until the end of the world." The Jews should not be permitted to return to Palestine with
sovereignty: "According to the Sacred Scriptures, the Jewish people must always live dispersed and
vagabondo [vagrant, wandering] among the other nations, so that they may render witness to Christ not
only by the Scriptures ... but by their very existence".

Nonetheless, Theodore Herzl travelled to Rome in late January 1904, after the sixth Zionist Congress
(August 1903) and six months before his death, looking for some kind of support. On January 22, Herzl
first met the Papal Secretary of State, Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val. According to Herzl's private diary
notes, the Cardinal's interpretation of the history of Israel was the same as that of the Catholic Church,
but he also asked for the conversion of the Jews to Catholicism. Three days later, Herzl met Pope Pius X,
who replied to his request of support for a Jewish return to Israel in the same terms, saying that "we are
unable to favor this movement. We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem, but we could
never sanction it ... The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish
people." In 1922, the same periodical published a piece by its Viennese correspondent, "anti-Semitism is
nothing but the absolutely necessary and natural reaction to the Jews' arrogance... Catholic anti-
Semitism - while never going beyond the moral law - adopts all necessary means to emancipate the
Christian people from the abuse they suffer from their sworn enemy".[161] This initial attitude changed
over the next 50 years, until 1997, when at the Vatican symposium of that year, Pope John Paul II
rejected the Christian roots of antisemitism, stating that "... the wrong and unjust interpretations of the
New Testament relating to the Jewish people and their supposed guilt [in Christ's death] circulated for
too long, engendering sentiments of hostility toward this people."[162]

Characterization as colonialism or ethnic cleansing

Zionism has been characterized as colonialism, and Zionism has been criticized for promoting unfair
confiscation of land, involving the expulsion of, and causing violence towards, the Palestinians. The
characterization of Zionism as colonialism has been described by, among others, Nur Masalha, Gershon
Shafir, Michael Prior, Ilan Pappe, and Baruch Kimmerling.[21]

Others, such as Shlomo Avineri and Mitchell Bard, view Zionism not as a colonialist movement, but as a
national movement that is contending with the Palestinian one.[163] South African rabbi David Hoffman
rejected the claim that Zionism is a 'settler-colonial undertaking' and instead characterized Zionism as a
national program of affirmative action, adding that there is unbroken Jewish presence in Israel back to
antiquity.[164]

Noam Chomsky, John P. Quigly, Nur Masalha, and Cheryl Rubenberg have criticized Zionism, saying that
it unfairly confiscates land and expels Palestinians.[165]

Isaac Deutscher has called Israelis the 'Prussians of the Middle East', who have achieved a 'totsieg', a
'victorious rush into the grave' as a result of dispossessing 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel had become the
'last remaining colonial power' of the twentieth century.[166]

Edward Said and Michael Prior claim that the notion of expelling the Palestinians was an early
component of Zionism, citing Herzl's diary from 1895 which states "we shall endeavour to expel the poor
population across the border unnoticed—the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must
be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."[167] This quotation has been critiqued by Efraim Karsh for
misrepresenting Herzl's purpose.[168] He describes it as "a feature of Palestinian propaganda", writing
that Herzl was referring to the voluntary resettlement of squatters living on land purchased by Jews, and
that the full diary entry stated, "It goes without saying that we shall respectfully tolerate persons of
other faiths and protect their property, their honor, and their freedom with the harshest means of
coercion. This is another area in which we shall set the entire world a wonderful example … Should
there be many such immovable owners in individual areas [who would not sell their property to us], we
shall simply leave them there and develop our commerce in the direction of other areas which belong to
us."[169][170] Derek Penslar says that Herzl may have been considering either South America or Palestine
when he wrote the diary entry about expropriation.[171] According to Walter Lacquer, although many
Zionists proposed transfer, it was never official Zionist policy and in 1918 Ben-Gurion "emphatically
rejected" it.[172]

Ilan Pappe argued that Zionism results in ethnic cleansing.[173] This view diverges from other New
Historians, such as Benny Morris, who accept the Palestinian exodus narrative but place it in the context
of war, not ethnic cleansing.[174] When Benny Morris was asked about the Expulsion of Palestinians from
Lydda and Ramle, he responded "There are circumstances in history that justify ethnic cleansing. I know
that this term is completely negative in the discourse of the 21st century, but when the choice is
between ethnic cleansing and genocide—the annihilation of your people—I prefer ethnic cleansing."[175]

Saleh Abdel Jawad, Nur Masalha, Michael Prior, Ian Lustick, and John Rose have criticized Zionism for
having been responsible for violence against Palestinians, such as the Deir Yassin massacre, Sabra and
Shatila massacre, and Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.[176]

In 1938, Mahatma Gandhi rejected Zionism, saying that the establishment of a Jewish national home in
Palestine is a religious act and therefore must not be performed by force, comparing it to the Partition
of India into Hindu and Muslim countries. He wrote, "Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense
that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews
on the Arabs ... Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine
can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home ... They can settle in Palestine only
by the goodwill of the Arabs. They should seek to convert the Arab heart."[177] Gandhi later told
American journalist Louis Fischer in 1946 that "Jews have a good case in Palestine. If the Arabs have a
claim to Palestine, the Jews have a prior claim".[178]

Characterization as racist

See also: Racism in Israel § Zionism; Israel, Palestinians, and the United Nations; and Israel and the
apartheid analogy

David Ben-Gurion stated that "There will be no discrimination among citizens of the Jewish state on the
basis of race, religion, sex, or class."[179] Likewise, Vladimir Jabotinsky avowed "the minority will not be
rendered defenseless... [the] aim of democracy is to guarantee that the minority too has influence on
matters of state policy."[180]

However, critics of Zionism consider it a colonialist[21] or racist[22] movement. According to historian Avi
Shlaim, throughout its history up to present day, Zionism "is replete with manifestations of deep
hostility and contempt towards the indigenous population." Shlaim balances this by pointing out that
there have always been individuals within the Zionist movement that have criticized such attitudes. He
cites the example of Ahad Ha'am, who after visiting Palestine in 1891, published a series of articles
criticizing the aggressive behaviour and political ethnocentrism of Zionist settlers. Ha'am wrote that the
Zionists "behave towards the Arabs with hostility and cruelty, trespass unjustly upon their boundaries,
beat them shamefully without reason and even brag about it, and nobody stands to check this
contemptible and dangerous tendency" and that they believed that "the only language that the Arabs
understand is that of force."[181] Some criticisms of Zionism claim that Judaism's notion of the "chosen
people" is the source of racism in Zionism,[182] despite, according to Gustavo Perednik, that being a
religious concept unrelated to Zionism.[183]

In December 1973, the UN passed a series of resolutions condemning South Africa and included a
reference to an "unholy alliance between Portuguese colonialism, Apartheid and Zionism."[184] At the
time there was little cooperation between Israel and South Africa,[185] although the two countries would
develop a close relationship during the 1970s.[186] Parallels have also been drawn between aspects of
South Africa's apartheid regime and certain Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, which are seen as
manifestations of racism in Zionist thinking.[187][188][189]

In 1975 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, which said "Zionism is a form of racism and
racial discrimination". According to the resolution, "any doctrine of racial differentiation of superiority is
scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust, and dangerous." The resolution named the
occupied territory of Palestine, Zimbabwe, and South Africa as examples of racist regimes. Resolution
3379 was pioneered by the Soviet Union and passed with numerical support from Arab and African
states amidst accusations that Israel was supportive of the apartheid regime in South Africa.[190] The
resolution was robustly criticised by the US representative, Daniel Patrick Moynihan as an 'obscenity'
and a 'harm ... done to the United Nations'.[191] 'In 1991 the resolution was repealed with UN General
Assembly Resolution 46/86,[192] after Israel declared that it would only participate in the Madrid
Conference of 1991 if the resolution were revoked.[193]

The United States ... does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce in this infamous
act… The lie is that Zionism is a form of racism. The overwhelmingly clear truth is that it is not.

— Daniel Patrick Moynihan, speaking in the UN General Assembly after Resolution 3379 was passed,
1975.[191]

Arab countries sought to associate Zionism with racism in connection with a 2001 UN conference on
racism, which took place in Durban, South Africa,[194] which caused the United States and Israel to walk
away from the conference as a response. The final text of the conference did not connect Zionism with
racism. A human rights forum arranged in connection with the conference, on the other hand, did
equate Zionism with racism and censured Israel for what it called "racist crimes, including acts of
genocide and ethnic cleansing".[195]

Supporters of Zionism, such as Chaim Herzog, argue that the movement is non-discriminatory and
contains no racist aspects.[196]

Haredi Judaism and Zionism

See also: Haredim and Zionism

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Many Haredi Orthodox organizations oppose Zionism; they view Zionism as a secular movement. They
reject nationalism as a doctrine and consider Judaism to be first and foremost a religion that is not
dependent on a state. However, some Haredi movements (such as Shas since 2010) do openly affiliate
with the Zionist movement.

Haredi rabbis do not consider Israel to be a halachic Jewish state because it has secular government. But
they take responsibility for ensuring that Jews maintain religious ideals and, since most Israeli citizens
are Jews, they pursue this agenda within Israel. Others reject any possibility of a Jewish state, since
according to them a Jewish state is completely forbidden by Jewish religious law. In their view a Jewish
state is an oxymoron.

Two Haredi parties run candidates in Israeli elections. They are sometimes associated with views that
could be regarded as nationalist or Zionist. They prefer coalitions with more nationalist Zionist parties,
probably because these are more interested in enhancing the Jewish nature of the Israeli state. The
Sephardi-Orthodox party Shas rejected association with the Zionist movement; however, in 2010 it
joined the World Zionist Organization. Its voters generally identify as Zionist, and Knesset members
frequently pursue what others might consider a Zionist agenda. Shas has supported territorial
compromise with the Arabs and Palestinians, but it generally opposes compromise over Jewish holy
sites.

The non-Hasidic or 'Lithuanian' Haredi Ashkenazi world is represented by the Ashkenazi Agudat
Israel/UTJ party. It has always avoided association with the Zionist movement and usually avoids voting
on or discussing issues related to peace, because its members do not serve in the army. The party works
to ensure that Israel and Israeli law are in tune with the halacha, on issues such as Shabbat rest. The
rabbinical leaders of the so-called Litvishe world in current and past generations, such as Rabbi Elazar
Menachem Shach and Rabbi Avigdor Miller, are strongly opposed to all forms of Zionism, religious and
secular. But they allow members to participate in Israeli political life, including both passive and active
participation in elections.

Many other Hasidic groups in Jerusalem, most famously the Satmar Hasidim, as well as the larger
movement they are part of, the Edah HaChareidis, are strongly anti-Zionist. One of the best known
Hasidic opponents of all forms of modern political Zionism was Hungarian rebbe and Talmudic scholar
Joel Teitelbaum. In his view, the current State of Israel is contrariwise to Judaism, because it was
founded by people who included some anti-religious personalities, and were in apparent violation of the
traditional notion that Jews should wait for the Jewish Messiah.

Teitelbaum referred to core citations from classical Judaic sources in his arguments against modern
Zionism; specifically a passage in the Talmud, in which Rabbi Yosi b'Rebbi Hanina explains (Kesubos
111a) that the Lord imposed "Three Oaths" on the nation of Israel: a) Israel should not return to the
Land together, by force; b) Israel should not rebel against the other nations; and c) The nations should
not subjugate Israel too harshly. According to Teitelbaum, the second oath is relevant concerning the
subsequent wars fought between Israel and Arab nations.
Other opponent groups among the Edah HaChareidis were Dushinsky, Toldos Aharon, Toldos Avrohom
Yitzchok, Spinka, and others. They number in the tens of thousands in Jerusalem, and hundreds of
thousands worldwide.

Two Neturei Karta members join in a large anti-Israel demonstration in Berlin, alongside Iranian and
Hezbollah flags.

The Neturei Karta, an Orthodox Haredi religious movement, strongly oppose Zionism, considering Israel
a "racist regime".[197] They are viewed as a cult on the "farthest fringes of Judaism" by most mainstream
Jews;[198] the Jewish Virtual Library puts their numbers at 5,000,[199] but the Anti-Defamation League
estimates that fewer than 100 members of the community actually take part in anti-Israel activism.[198]
The movement equates Zionism to Nazism,[200] believes that Zionist ideology is contrary to the teachings
of the Torah,[201] and also blames Zionism for increases in antisemitism.[202] Members of Neturei Karta
have a long history of extremist statements and support for notable anti-Semites and Islamic
extremists.[198]

The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement traditionally did not identify as Zionist, but has adopted a
Zionist agenda since the late 20th century, opposing any territorial compromise in Israel.[citation needed]

Anti-Zionism or antisemitism

Main articles: Anti-Zionism § Anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and New Antisemitism

Some critics of anti-Zionism have argued that opposition to Zionism can be hard to distinguish from
antisemitism,[203][204][205][206][207] and that criticism of Israel may be used as an excuse to express
viewpoints that might otherwise be considered antisemitic.[208][209] Other scholars argue that certain
forms of opposition to Zionism constitute antisemitism.[206] A number of scholars have argued that
opposition to Zionism or the State of Israel's policies at the more extreme fringes often overlaps with
antisemitism.[206] In the Arab world, the words "Jew" and "Zionist" are often used interchangeably. To
avoid accusations of antisemitism, the Palestine Liberation Organization has historically avoided using
the word "Jewish" in favor of using "Zionist," though PLO officials have sometimes slipped.[210]

Some antisemites have alleged that Zionism was, or is, part of a Jewish plot to take control of the
world.[211] One particular version of these allegations, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" (subtitle
"Protocols extracted from the secret archives of the central chancery of Zion") achieved global
notability. The protocols are fictional minutes of an imaginary meeting by Jewish leaders of this plot.
Analysis and proof of their fraudulent origin goes as far back as 1921.[212] A 1920 German version
renamed them "The Zionist Protocols".[213] The protocols were extensively used as propaganda by the
Nazis and remain widely distributed in the Arab world. They are referred to in the 1988 Hamas
charter.[214]

There are examples of anti-Zionists using accusations, slanders, imagery and tactics previously
associated with antisemites. On October 21, 1973, the then-Soviet ambassador to the United Nations
Yakov Malik declared: "The Zionists have come forth with the theory of the Chosen People, an absurd
ideology." Similarly, an exhibit about Zionism and Israel in the former Museum of Religion and Atheism
in Saint Petersburg designated the following as Soviet Zionist material: Jewish prayer shawls, tefillin and
Passover Hagaddahs,[215] even though these are all religious items used by Jews for thousands of
years.[216]

On the other hand, anti-Zionist writers such as Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Michael Marder,
and Tariq Ali have argued that the characterization of anti-Zionism as antisemitic is inaccurate, that it
sometimes obscures legitimate criticism of Israel's policies and actions, and that it is sometimes used as
a political ploy in order to stifle legitimate criticism of Israel.

 Professor Noam Chomsky argues: "There have long been efforts to identify anti-Semitism and
anti-Zionism in an effort to exploit anti-racist sentiment for political ends; "one of the chief tasks
of any dialogue with the Gentile world is to prove that the distinction between anti-Semitism
and anti-Zionism is not a distinction at all," Israeli diplomat Abba Eban argued, in a typical
expression of this intellectually and morally disreputable position (Eban, Congress Bi-Weekly,
March 30, 1973). But that no longer suffices. It is now necessary to identify criticism of Israeli
policies as anti-Semitism — or in the case of Jews, as "self-hatred," so that all possible cases are
covered." — Chomsky, 1989 "Necessary Illusions".

 Philosopher Michael Marder argues: "To deconstruct Zionism is ... to demand justice for its
victims - not only for the Palestinians, who are suffering from it, but also for the anti-Zionist
Jews, "erased" from the officially consecrated account of Zionist history. By deconstructing its
ideology, we shed light on the context it strives to repress and on the violence it legitimises with
a mix of theological or metaphysical reasoning and affective appeals to historical guilt for the
undeniably horrific persecution of Jewish people in Europe and elsewhere."[217][218]

 American political scientist Norman Finkelstein argues that anti-Zionism and often just criticism
of Israeli policies have been conflated with antisemitism, sometimes called new antisemitism for
political gain: "Whenever Israel faces a public relations débâcle such as the Intifada or
international pressure to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict, American Jewish organizations
orchestrate this extravaganza called the 'new anti-Semitism.' The purpose is several-fold. First, it
is to discredit any charges by claiming the person is an anti-Semite. It's to turn Jews into the
victims, so that the victims are not the Palestinians any longer. As people like Abraham Foxman
of the ADL put it, the Jews are being threatened by a new holocaust. It's a role reversal — the
Jews are now the victims, not the Palestinians. So it serves the function of discrediting the
people leveling the charge. It's no longer Israel that needs to leave the Occupied Territories; it's
the Arabs who need to free themselves of the anti-Semitism. — [219]

 Tariq Ali, a British-Pakistani historian and political activist, argues that the concept of new
antisemitism amounts to an attempt to subvert the language in the interests of the State of
Israel. He writes that the campaign against "the supposed new 'anti-semitism'" in modern
 Europe is a "cynical ploy on the part of the Israeli Government to seal off the Zionist state from
any criticism of its regular and consistent brutality against the Palestinians ... Criticism of Israel
can not and should not be equated with anti-semitism." He argues that most pro-Palestinian,
anti-Zionist groups that emerged after the Six-Day War were careful to observe the distinction
between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. — [220]

Marcus Garvey and Black Zionism

See also: Alliance of Black Jews and Back-to-Africa movement

Zionist success in winning British support for the formation of a Jewish National Home in Palestine
helped inspire the Jamaican Black nationalist Marcus Garvey to form a movement dedicated to
returning Americans of African origin to Africa. During a speech in Harlem in 1920, Garvey stated: "other
races were engaged in seeing their cause through—the Jews through their Zionist movement and the
Irish through their Irish movement—and I decided that, cost what it might, I would make this a favorable
time to see the Negro's interest through."[221] Garvey established a shipping company, the Black Star
Line, to allow Black Americans to emigrate to Africa, but for various reasons he failed in his endeavour.

Garvey helped inspire the Rastafari movement in Jamaica, the Black Jews[222] and the African Hebrew
Israelites of Jerusalem who initially moved to Liberia before settling in Israel.
Jewish religious clothing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Hasidic men in Borough Park, Brooklyn. The man on the left is wearing a shtreimel and a tallit, and the
other man traditional Hasidic garb: long suit, black hat, and gartel.

Jewish religious clothing is apparel worn by Jews in connection with the practice of the Jewish religion.
Jewish religious clothing has changed over time while maintaining the influences of biblical
commandments and Jewish religious law regarding clothing and modesty (tzniut). Contemporary styles
in the wider culture also have a bearing on Jewish religious clothing, although this extent is limited.

Contents

 1 Historical background

 2 Men's clothing

o 2.1 Tallit, tzitzit

o 2.2 Kippah

o 2.3 Kittel

 3 Women's clothing

 4 Jewish vs. gentile customs

  5 See also

 6 References

 7 Further reading

 8 External links

Historical background

The Torah set forth rules for dress that, following later rabbinical tradition, were interpreted as setting
Jews apart from the communities in which they lived.[1]

Classical Greek and Roman sources, that often ridicule many aspects of Jewish life, do not remark on
their clothing and subject it to caricature, as they do when touching on Celtic, Germanic, and Persian
peoples, and mock their different modes of dress.[2] Cultural anthropologist Eric Silverman argues that
Jews in the late antiquity period used clothes and hair-styles like the people around them.[3]

At 2 Maccabees 4:12, it is said that the Maccabees slaughtered Jewish youths guilty of Hellenizing in
wearing caps typical of Greek youths.[4]

In many Islamic countries, Jewish men typically wore tunics, instead of trousers. In the same countries,
many different local regulations emerged to make Christian and Jewish dhimmis look distinctive in their
public appearance. In 1198, the Almohad emir Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur decreed that Jews must wear
a dark blue garb, with very large sleeves and a grotesquely oversized hat. His son altered the colour to
yellow, a change that may have influenced Catholic ordinances some time later.[5] German ethnographer
Erich Brauer (1895–1942) noted that in Yemen of his time, Jews were not allowed to wear clothing of
any color besides blue.[6] Earlier, in Jacob Saphir's time (1859), they would wear outer garments that
were "utterly black".[citation needed]

Men's clothing

Many Jewish men historically wore turbans or habits,[7] tunics,[8] cloaks, and sandals in summer.[9]
Oriental Jewish men in late-Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine would wear the tarbush on their
heads.[10]
A Yemenite Jewish elder wearing a sudra with central hat

Tallit, tzitzit

The tallit is a Jewish prayer shawl worn while reciting morning prayers as well as in the synagogue on
Shabbat and holidays. In Yemen, the wearing of such garments was not unique to prayer time alone, but
was worn the entire day.[11] In many Ashkenazi communities, a tallit is worn only after marriage. The
tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. It is sometimes
referred to as arba kanfot (lit. 'four corners') although the term is more common for a tallit katan, an
undergarment with tzitzit. According to the Biblical commandments, tzitzit must be attached to any
four-cornered garment, and a thread with a blue dye known as tekhelet is supposed to be included in
the tzitzit. Jewish men are buried in a tallit in addition to tachrichim (burial shrouds).

A Jewish woman praying with a tallit and tefillin

Since tzitzit are considered to be a time-bound commandment, only men are required to wear them.[12]
Authorities have differed as to whether women are prohibited, permitted or encouraged to wear them.
Medieval authorities tended toward leniency, with more prohibitive rulings gaining in precedence since
the 16th century.[13] Conservative Judaism regards women as exempt from wearing tzitzit, not as
prohibited,[14] and the tallit has become more common among Conservative women since the
1970s.[15][16] Some progressive Jewish women choose to take on the obligations of tzitzit and tefillin,[17]
and it has become common for a girl to receive a tallit when she becomes bat mitzvah.[16][18][19]

Kippah

A kippah or yarmulke (also called a kappel or skull cap) is a thin, slightly-rounded skullcap traditionally
worn at all times by Orthodox Jewish men, and sometimes by both men and women in Conservative and
Reform communities. Its use is associated with demonstrating respect and reverence for God.[20] Jews in
Arab lands did not traditionally wear yarmulkes, but rather larger rounded hats, without brims.[citation
needed]

Kittel

A kittel (Yiddish: ‫ )קיטל‬is a white, knee-length, cotton robe worn by Jewish prayer leaders and some
Orthodox Jews on the High Holidays. In some families, the head of the household wears a kittel at the
Passover seder,[21] while in other families all married men wear them.[21][22] In many Ashkenazi Orthodox
circles, it is customary for the groom to wear a kittel under the chuppah (wedding canopy).[citation needed]

Women's clothing

Jewish Yemenite women and children in a refugee camp near Aden, Yemen in 1949. According to Jewish
religious law, a married woman must cover her hair

Married observant Jewish women wear a scarf (tichel or mitpahat), snood, hat, beret, or sometimes a
wig (sheitel) in order to conform with the requirement of Jewish religious law that married women
cover their hair.[23][24]
Jewish women were distinguished from others in the western regions of the Roman Empire by their
custom of veiling in public. The custom of veiling was shared by Jews with others in the eastern
regions.[25] The custom petered out among Roman women, but was retained by Jewish women as a sign
of their identification as Jews. The custom has been retained among Orthodox women.[26] Evidence
drawn from the Talmud shows that pious Jewish women would wear shawls over their heads when they
would leave their homes, but there was no practice of fully covering the face.[27] In the medieval era,
Jewish women started veiling their faces under the influence of the Islamic societies they lived in.[28] In
some Muslim regions such as in Baghdad, Jewish women veiled their faces until the 1930s. In the more
lax Kurdish regions, Jewish women did not cover their faces.[29]

Jewish vs. gentile customs

Based on the rabbinic traditions of the Talmud, the 12th century philosopher Maimonides forbade
emulating gentile dress and apparel when those same items of clothing have immodest designs, or that
they are connected somehow to an idolatrous practice, or are worn because of some superstitious
practice (i. e., "the ways of an Amorite").[30]

A question was posed to 15th-century Rabbi Joseph Colon (Maharik) regarding "gentile clothing" and
whether or not a Jew who wears such clothing transgresses a biblical prohibition that states, "You shall
not walk in their precepts" (Leviticus 18:3). In a protracted responsum, Rabbi Colon wrote that any Jew
who might be a practising physician is permitted to wear a physician's cape (traditionally worn by gentile
physicians on account of their expertise in that particular field of science and their wanting to be
recognized as such), and that the Jewish physician who wore it has not infringed upon any law in the
Torah, even though Jews were not wont to wear such garments in former times.[31] He noted that there
is nothing attributed to "superstitious" practice by their wearing such a garment, while, at the same
time, there isn't anything promiscuous or immodest about wearing such a cape, neither is it worn out of
haughtiness. Moreover, he has understood from Maimonides (Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 11:1) that there
is no commandment requiring a fellow Jew to seek out and look for clothing which would make them
stand out as "different" from what is worn by gentiles, but rather, only to make sure that what a Jew
might wear is not an "exclusive" gentile item of clothing. He noted that wearing a physician's cape is not
an exclusive gentile custom, noting, moreover, that since the custom to wear the cape varies from place
to place, and that, in France, physicians do not have it as a custom to wear such capes, it cannot
therefore be an exclusive Gentile custom.[31]

According to Rabbi Colon, modesty was still a criterion for wearing gentile clothing, writing: "...even if
Israel made it as their custom [to wear] a certain item of clothing, while the Gentiles [would wear]
something different, if the Israelite garment should not measure up to [the standard established in]
Judaism or of modesty more than what the Gentiles hold as their practice, there is no prohibition
whatsoever for an Israelite to wear the garment that is practised among the Gentiles, seeing that it is in
[keeping with] the way of fitness and modesty just as that of Israel."[31]

Rabbi Joseph Karo (1488–1575), following in the footsteps of Colon, ruled in accordance with Colon's
teaching in his seminal work Beit Yosef on the Tur (Yoreh De'ah §178), and in his commentary Kessef
Mishneh (on Maimonides' Mishne Torah, Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 11:1), making the wearing of gentile
clothing contingent upon three factors: 1) that they not be promiscuous clothing; 2) not be clothing
linked to an idolatrous practice; 3) not be clothing that was worn because of some superstitious practice
(or "the way of the Amorites"). Rabbi Moses Isserles (1530–1572) opines that to these strictures can be
added one additional prohibition of wearing clothes that are a "custom" for them (the gentiles) to wear,
that is to say, an exclusive gentile custom where the clothing is immodest.[32] Rabbi and posek Moshe
Feinstein (1895–1986) subscribed to the same strictures.[33]
Torah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the Hebrew Torah. For Samaritanism, see Samaritan Torah. For other uses, see
Torah (disambiguation).

"Pentateuch" redirects here. For other uses, see Pentateuch (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Tanakh.

It has been suggested that Law of Moses be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since
February 2020.

Torah scroll at old Glockengasse Synagogue (reconstruction), Cologne.

Silver Torah case, Ottoman Empire Museum of Jewish Art and History.

Torah (/ˈtɔːrə, ˈtoʊrə/; Hebrew: ‫תּוֹרָה‬, "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") has a range of meanings. It can
most specifically mean the first five books (Pentateuch or five books of Moses) of the 24 books of the
Hebrew Bible. This is commonly known as the Written Torah. It can also mean the continued narrative
from all the 24 books, from the Book of Genesis to the end of the Tanakh (Chronicles), and it can even
mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from biblical texts or later
rabbinic writings. This is often known as the Oral Torah.[1] Common to all these meanings, Torah consists
of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their
covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious
obligations and civil laws (halakha).

If in bound book form, it is called Chumash, and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries
(perushim). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll (sefer Torah), which
contains strictly the five books of Moses.
In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books (Hebrew: ‫תורה שבכתב‬,
romanized: torah shebichtav "Torah that is written") and the Oral Torah (Hebrew: ‫תורה שבעל פה‬,
romanized: torah shebe'al peh, "Torah that is spoken"). The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and
amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to
generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash.[2] Rabbinic tradition's understanding is
that all of the teachings found in the Torah (both written and oral) were given by God through the
prophet Moses, some at Mount Sinai and others at the Tabernacle, and all the teachings were written
down by Moses, which resulted in the Torah that exists today. According to the Midrash, the Torah was
created prior to the creation of the world, and was used as the blueprint for Creation.[3] The majority of
Biblical scholars believe that the written books were a product of the Babylonian captivity (c. 6th
century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, and that it was completed with final
revisions during the post-Exilic period (c. 5th century BCE).[4][5][6]

Traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe (sofer) in Hebrew. A Torah
portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation.[7] Reading the
Torah publicly is one of the bases of Jewish communal life.

Contents

 1 Meaning and names

o 1.1 Alternative names

 2 Contents

o 2.1 Bereshit/Genesis

o 2.2 Shemot/Exodus

o 2.3 Vayikra/Leviticus

o 2.4 Bamidbar/Numbers

o 2.5 Devarim/Deuteronomy

 3 Composition

o 3.1 Date of compilation

 4 Torah and Judaism

o 4.1 Ritual use

o 4.2 Biblical law

 5 The Oral Torah

 6 Divine significance of letters, Jewish mysticism

 7 Production and use of a Torah scroll

  8 Torah translations

o 8.1 Aramaic

o 8.2 Greek

o 8.3 Latin

o 8.4 Arabic

o 8.5 Modern languages

 8.5.1 Jewish translations

 8.5.2 Christian translations

 9 In other religions

o 9.1 Samaritanism

o 9.2 Christianity

o 9.3 Islam

o 9.4 Bahá'í Faith

 10 See also

 11 References

 12 Bibliography

 13 Further reading

 14 External links

Meaning and names

Reading of the Torah

The word "Torah" in Hebrew is derived from the root ‫ירה‬, which in the hif'il conjugation means 'to guide'
or 'to teach' (cf. Lev 10:11). The meaning of the word is therefore "teaching", "doctrine", or
"instruction"; the commonly accepted "law" gives a wrong impression.[8] The Alexandrian Jews who
translated the Septuagint used the Greek word nomos, meaning norm, standard, doctrine, and later
"law". Greek and Latin Bibles then began the custom of calling the Pentateuch (five books of Moses) The
Law. Other translational contexts in the English language include custom, theory, guidance,[9] or
system.[10]

The term "Torah" is used in the general sense to include both Rabbinic Judaism's written law and Oral
Law, serving to encompass the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout
history, including the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash and more, and the inaccurate rendering of
"Torah" as "Law"[11] may be an obstacle to understanding the ideal that is summed up in the term
talmud torah (‫תלמוד תורה‬, "study of Torah").[2]

The earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been "The Torah of Moses". This title,
however, is found neither in the Torah itself, nor in the works of the pre-Exilic literary prophets. It
appears in Joshua (8:31–32; 23:6) and Kings (I Kings 2:3; II Kings 14:6; 23:25), but it cannot be said to
refer there to the entire corpus (according to academic Bible criticism). In contrast, there is every
likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works (Mal. 3:22; Dan. 9:11, 13; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Neh. 8:1; II Chron.
23:18; 30:16) was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were "The Book of Moses" (Ezra
6:18; Neh. 13:1; II Chron. 35:12; 25:4; cf. II Kings 14:6) and "The Book of the Torah" (Neh. 8:3), which
seems to be a contraction of a fuller name, "The Book of the Torah of God" (Neh. 8:8, 18; 10:29–30; cf.
9:3).[12]

Alternative names

"Pentateuch" redirects here. For other uses, see Pentateuch (disambiguation).

Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the 'Pentateuch' (Greek:
πεντάτευχος, pentáteuchos, 'five scrolls'), a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria.[13]

Contents

Tanakh (Judaism)

Torah (Instruction)[show]

Nevi'im (Prophets)[show]

Ketuvim (Writings)[show]

Old Testament (Christianity)

 Pentateuch[show]

Historical[show]

Wisdom[show]

Prophetic[show]

Deuterocanonical[show]

Bible portal

 v

 t

 e

Torah

Information

Religion Judaism

Author Multiple

Language Tiberian Hebrew

Chapters 187

Verses 5,852

The Torah starts from the beginning of God's creating the world, through the beginnings of the people
of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and the giving of the Torah at biblical Mount Sinai. It ends with the
death of Moses, just before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in
the narrative are the specific teachings (religious obligations and civil laws) given explicitly (i.e. Ten
Commandments) or implicitly embedded in the narrative (as in Exodus 12 and 13 laws of the celebration
of Passover).

In Hebrew, the five books of the Torah are identified by the incipits in each book;[14] and the common
English names for the books are derived from the Greek Septuagint and reflect the essential theme of
each book:

 Bəreshit (‫בְּרֵאשִׁית‬, literally "In the beginning")—Genesis, from Γένεσις (Génesis, "Creation")

 Shəmot (‫שְׁמוֹת‬, literally "Names")—Exodus, from Ἔξοδος (Éxodos, "Exit")

 Vayikra (‫וַיִּקְרָא‬, literally "And He called")—Leviticus, from Λευιτικόν (Leuitikón, "Relating to the
Levites")
  Bəmidbar (‫בְּמִדְבַּר‬, literally "In the desert [of]")—Numbers, from Ἀριθμοί (Arithmoí, "Numbers")

 Dəvarim (‫דְּבָרִים‬, literally "Things" or "Words")—Deuteronomy, from Δευτερονόμιον

(Deuteronómion, "Second-Law")

Bereshit/Genesis

Main article: Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Torah.[15] It is divisible into two parts, the Primeval history
(chapters 1–11) and the Ancestral history (chapters 12–50).[16] The primeval history sets out the author's
(or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God
creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to
destroy his creation, saving only the righteous Noah to reestablish the relationship between man and
God.[17] The Ancestral history (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people.[18]
At God's command Noah's descendant Abraham journeys from his home into the God-given land of
Canaan, where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob's name is
changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph, the children of Israel descend into Egypt, 70
people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with
Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus. The narrative is punctuated by a series of
covenants with God, successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the covenant with Noah) to a
special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).[19]

Shemot/Exodus

Main article: Book of Exodus

The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah, immediately following Genesis. The book tells how
the ancient Israelites leave slavery in Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, the god who has chosen
Israel as his people. Yahweh inflicts horrific harm on their captors via the legendary Plagues of Egypt.
With the prophet Moses as their leader, they journey through the wilderness to biblical Mount Sinai,
where Yahweh promises them the land of Canaan (the "Promised Land") in return for their faithfulness.
Israel enters into a covenant with Yahweh who gives them their laws and instructions to build the
Tabernacle, the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy
war to possess the land, and then give them peace.

Traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, modern scholarship sees the book as initially a product of the
Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), from earlier written and oral traditions, with final revisions in the
Persian post-exilic period (5th century BCE).[20][21] Carol Meyers, in her commentary on Exodus suggests
that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's
identity: memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with God, who chooses
Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it.[22]

Vayikra/Leviticus

Main article: Book of Leviticus

The Book of Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, which they
had just built (Leviticus 1–10). This is followed by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11–15), which
includes the laws of slaughter and animals permissible to eat (see also: Kashrut), the Day of Atonement
(Leviticus 16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–26).
Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following God's commandments and a detailed list of
punishments for not following them. Leviticus 17 establishes sacrifices at the Tabernacle as an
everlasting ordinance, but this ordinance is altered in later books with the Temple being the only place
in which sacrifices are allowed.

Bamidbar/Numbers

Main article: Book of Numbers

The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah.[23] The book has a long and complex history, but
its final form is probably due to a Priestly redaction (i.e., editing) of a Yahwistic source made some time
in the early Persian period (5th century BCE).[24] The name of the book comes from the two censuses
taken of the Israelites.

Numbers begins at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites have received their laws and covenant from God
and God has taken up residence among them in the sanctuary.[25] The task before them is to take
possession of the Promised Land. The people are counted and preparations are made for resuming their
march. The Israelites begin the journey, but they "murmur" at the hardships along the way, and about
the authority of Moses and Aaron. For these acts, God destroys approximately 15,000 of them through
various means. They arrive at the borders of Canaan and send spies into the land. Upon hearing the
spies' fearful report concerning the conditions in Canaan, the Israelites refuse to take possession of it.
God condemns them to death in the wilderness until a new generation can grow up and carry out the
task. The book ends with the new generation of Israelites in the Plain of Moab ready for the crossing of
the Jordan River.[26]

Numbers is the culmination of the story of Israel's exodus from oppression in Egypt and their journey to
take possession of the land God promised their fathers. As such it draws to a conclusion the themes
introduced in Genesis and played out in Exodus and Leviticus: God has promised the Israelites that they
shall become a great (i.e. numerous) nation, that they will have a special relationship with Yahweh their
god, and that they shall take possession of the land of Canaan. Numbers also demonstrates the
importance of holiness, faithfulness and trust: despite God's presence and his priests, Israel lacks faith
and the possession of the land is left to a new generation.[24]

Devarim/Deuteronomy

Main article: Book of Deuteronomy

The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three
sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the plains of Moab, shortly before they
enter the Promised Land. The first sermon recounts the forty years of wilderness wanderings which had
led to that moment, and ends with an exhortation to observe the law (or teachings), later referred to as
the Law of Moses; the second reminds the Israelites of the need to follow Yahweh and the laws (or
teachings) he has given them, on which their possession of the land depends; and the third offers the
comfort that even should Israel prove unfaithful and so lose the land, with repentance all can be
restored.[27] The final four chapters (31–34) contain the Song of Moses, the Blessing of Moses, and
narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua and, finally, the
death of Moses on Mount Nebo.

Presented as the words of Moses delivered before the conquest of Canaan, a broad consensus of
modern scholars see its origin in traditions from Israel (the northern kingdom) brought south to the
Kingdom of Judah in the wake of the Assyrian conquest of Aram (8th century BCE) and then adapted to a
program of nationalist reform in the time of Josiah (late 7th century BCE), with the final form of the
modern book emerging in the milieu of the return from the Babylonian captivity during the late 6th
century BCE.[28] Many scholars see the book as reflecting the economic needs and social status of the
Levite caste, who are believed to have provided its authors;[29] those likely authors are collectively
referred to as the Deuteronomist.

One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema Yisrael, which has become the
definitive statement of Jewish identity: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one." Verses 6:4–
5 were also quoted by Jesus in Mark 12:28–34 as part of the Great Commandment.

Composition

Main articles: Composition of the Torah and Mosaic authorship

The Talmud holds that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of
Deuteronomy, describing his death and burial, being written by Joshua.[30] Alternatively, Rashi quotes
from the Talmud that, "God spoke them, and Moses wrote them with tears".[31][32] The Mishnah includes
the divine origin of the Torah as an essential tenet of Judaism.[33] According to Jewish tradition, the
Torah was recompiled by Ezra during Second Temple period.[34][35]

One common formulation of the documentary hypothesis.

By contrast, the modern scholarly consensus rejects Mosaic authorship, and affirms that the Torah has
multiple authors and that its composition took place over centuries.[6] The precise process by which the
Torah was composed, the number of authors involved, and the date of each author remain hotly
contested, however. Throughout most of the 20th century, there was a scholarly consensus surrounding
the documentary hypothesis, which posits four independent sources, which were later compiled
together by a redactor: J, the Jahwist source, E, the Elohist source, P, the Priestly source, and D, the
Deuteronomist source. The earliest of these sources, J, would have been composed in the late 7th or the
6th century BCE, with the latest source, P, being composed around the 5th century BCE.
The supplementary hypothesis, one potential successor to the documentary hypothesis.

The consensus around the documentary hypothesis collapsed in the last decades of the 20th century.[36]
The groundwork was laid with the investigation of the origins of the written sources in oral
compositions, implying that the creators of J and E were collectors and editors and not authors and
historians.[37] Rolf Rendtorff, building on this insight, argued that the basis of the Pentateuch lay in short,
independent narratives, gradually formed into larger units and brought together in two editorial phases,
the first Deuteronomic, the second Priestly.[38] By contrast, John Van Seters advocates a supplementary
hypothesis, which posits that the Torah was derived from a series of direct additions to an existing
corpus of work.[39] A "neo-documentarian" hypothesis, which responds to the criticism of the original
hypothesis and updates the methodology used to determine which text comes from which sources, has
been advocated by biblical historian Joel S. Baden, among others.[40][41] Such a hypothesis continues to
have adherents in Israel and North America.[41]

The majority of scholars today continue to recognize Deuteronomy as a source, with its origin in the law-
code produced at the court of Josiah as described by De Wette, subsequently given a frame during the
exile (the speeches and descriptions at the front and back of the code) to identify it as the words of
Moses.[42] Most scholars also agree that some form of Priestly source existed, although its extent,
especially its end-point, is uncertain.[43] The remainder is called collectively non-Priestly, a grouping
which includes both pre-Priestly and post-Priestly material.[44]

Date of compilation

The final Torah is widely seen as a product of the Persian period (539–333 BCE, probably 450–350
BCE).[45] This consensus echoes a traditional Jewish view which gives Ezra, the leader of the Jewish
community on its return from Babylon, a pivotal role in its promulgation.[46] Many theories have been
advanced to explain the composition of the Torah, but two have been especially influential.[47] The first
of these, Persian Imperial authorisation, advanced by Peter Frei in 1985, holds that the Persian
authorities required the Jews of Jerusalem to present a single body of law as the price of local
autonomy.[48] Frei's theory was demolished at an interdisciplinary symposium held in 2000, but the
relationship between the Persian authorities and Jerusalem remains a crucial question.[49] The second
theory, associated with Joel P. Weinberg and called the "Citizen-Temple Community", proposes that the
Exodus story was composed to serve the needs of a post-exilic Jewish community organised around the
Temple, which acted in effect as a bank for those who belonged to it.[50]

A minority of scholars would place the final formation of the Pentateuch somewhat later, in the
Hellenistic (333–164 BCE) or even Hasmonean (140–37 BCE) periods.[51] Russell Gmirkin, for instance,
argues for a Hellenistic dating on the basis that the Elephantine papyri, the records of a Jewish colony in
Egypt dating from the last quarter of the 5th century BCE, make no reference to a written Torah, the
Exodus, or to any other biblical event.[52]

Torah and Judaism

Presentation of The Torah, by Édouard Moyse, 1860, Museum of Jewish Art and History

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Rabbinic writings state that the Oral Torah was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, which, according to the
tradition of Orthodox Judaism, occurred in 1312 BCE. The Orthodox rabbinic tradition holds that the
Written Torah was recorded during the following forty years,[53] though many non-Orthodox Jewish
scholars affirm the modern scholarly consensus that the Written Torah has multiple authors and was
written over centuries.[54]

The Talmud (Gittin 60a) presents two opinions as to how exactly the Torah was written down by Moses.
One opinion holds that it was written by Moses gradually as it was dictated to him, and finished it close
to his death, and the other opinion holds that Moses wrote the complete Torah in one writing close to
his death, based on what was dictated to him over the years.

The Talmud (Menachot 30a) says that the last eight verses of the Torah that discuss the death and burial
of Moses could not have been written by Moses, as writing it would have been a lie, and that they were
written after his death by Joshua. Abraham ibn Ezra[55] and Joseph Bonfils observed[citation needed] that
phrases in those verses present information that people should only have known after the time of
Moses. Ibn Ezra hinted,[56] and Bonfils explicitly stated, that Joshua wrote these verses many years after
the death of Moses. Other commentators[57] do not accept this position and maintain that although
Moses did not write those eight verses it was nonetheless dictated to him and that Joshua wrote it
based on instructions left by Moses, and that the Torah often describes future events, some of which
have yet to occur.

All classical rabbinic views hold that the Torah was entirely Mosaic and of divine origin.[58] Present-day
Reform and Liberal Jewish movements all reject Mosaic authorship, as do most shades of Conservative
Judaism.[59]

According to Legends of the Jews, God gave Torah to the children of Israel after he approached every
tribe and nation in the world, and offered them the Torah, but the latter refused it so they might have
no excuse to be ignorant about it.[60] In this book, Torah is defined as one of the first things created, as
remedy against the evil inclination,[61] and as the counselor who advised God to create human in the
creation of world in order to make him the honored One.[62]

Ritual use

Main article: Torah reading

Torahs in Ashkenazi Synagogue (Istanbul, Turkey)

Torah reading (Hebrew: ‫קריאת התורה‬, K'riat HaTorah, "Reading [of] the Torah") is a Jewish religious ritual
that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the
entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll (or scrolls) from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt
with traditional cantillation, and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is distinct from academic Torah
study.

Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Jewish
people from the Babylonian captivity (c. 537 BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah.[63] In the
modern era, adherents of Orthodox Judaism practice Torah-reading according to a set procedure they
believe has remained unchanged in the two thousand years since the destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem (70 CE). In the 19th and 20th centuries CE, new movements such as Reform Judaism and
Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of
Torah reading has usually remained the same:
As a part of the morning prayer services on certain days of the week, fast days, and holidays, as well as
part of the afternoon prayer services of Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and fast days, a section of the Pentateuch
is read from a Torah scroll. On Shabbat (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section ("parashah") is read,
selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year. The division of parashot found in
the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based
upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah
Scrolls, chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the Torah on the Aleppo Codex.
Conservative and Reform synagogues may read parashot on a triennial rather than annual
schedule,[64][65][66] On Saturday afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following
Saturday's portion is read. On Jewish holidays, the beginnings of each month, and fast days, special
sections connected to the day are read.

Jews observe an annual holiday, Simchat Torah, to celebrate the completion and new start of the year's
cycle of readings.

Torah scrolls are often dressed with a sash, a special Torah cover, various ornaments and a Keter
(crown), although such customs vary among synagogues. Congregants traditionally stand in respect
when the Torah is brought out of the ark to be read, while it is being carried, and lifted, and likewise
while it is returned to the ark, although they may sit during the reading itself.

Biblical law

See also: Biblical law and 613 commandments

The Torah contains narratives, statements of law, and statements of ethics. Collectively these laws,
usually called biblical law or commandments, are sometimes referred to as the Law of Moses (Torat
Moshe ‫)תּוֹרַת־מֹשֶׁה‬, Mosaic Law, or Sinaitic Law.

The Oral Torah

Main article: Oral Torah

Rabbinic tradition holds that Moses learned the whole Torah while he lived on Mount Sinai for 40 days
and nights and both the Oral and the written Torah were transmitted in parallel with each other. Where
the Torah leaves words and concepts undefined, and mentions procedures without explanation or
instructions, the reader is required to seek out the missing details from supplemental sources known as
the Oral Law or Oral Torah.[67] Some of the Torah's most prominent commandments needing further
explanation are:

 Tefillin: As indicated in Deuteronomy 6:8 among other places, tefillin are to be placed on the
arm and on the head between the eyes. However, there are no details provided regarding what
tefillin are or how they are to be constructed.

 Kashrut: As indicated in Exodus 23:19 among other places, a young goat may not be boiled in its
mother's milk. In addition to numerous other problems with understanding the ambiguous
nature of this law, there are no vowelization characters in the Torah; they are provided by the
oral tradition. This is particularly relevant to this law, as the Hebrew word for milk (‫ )חלב‬is
identical to the word for animal fat when vowels are absent. Without the oral tradition, it is not
known whether the violation is in mixing meat with milk or with fat.
  Shabbat laws: With the severity of Sabbath violation, namely the death penalty, one would
assume that direction would be provided as to how exactly such a serious and core
commandment should be upheld. However, most information regarding the rules and traditions
of Shabbat are dictated in the Talmud and other books deriving from Jewish oral law.

According to classical rabbinic texts this parallel set of material was originally transmitted to Moses at
Sinai, and then from Moses to Israel. At that time it was forbidden to write and publish the oral law, as
any writing would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation and abuse.[68]

However, after exile, dispersion, and persecution, this tradition was lifted when it became apparent that
in writing was the only way to ensure that the Oral Law could be preserved. After many years of effort
by a great number of tannaim, the oral tradition was written down around 200 CE by Rabbi Judah
haNasi, who took up the compilation of a nominally written version of the Oral Law, the Mishnah
(Hebrew: ‫)משנה‬. Other oral traditions from the same time period not entered into the Mishnah were
recorded as Baraitot (external teaching), and the Tosefta. Other traditions were written down as
Midrashim.

After continued persecution more of the Oral Law was committed to writing. A great many more
lessons, lectures and traditions only alluded to in the few hundred pages of Mishnah, became the
thousands of pages now called the Gemara. Gemara is written in Aramaic, having been compiled in
Babylon. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud. The rabbis in the Land of Israel also
collected their traditions and compiled them into the Jerusalem Talmud. Since the greater number of
rabbis lived in Babylon, the Babylonian Talmud has precedence should the two be in conflict.

Orthodox and Conservative branches of Judaism accept these texts as the basis for all subsequent
halakha and codes of Jewish law, which are held to be normative. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism
deny that these texts, or the Torah itself for that matter, may be used for determining normative law
(laws accepted as binding) but accept them as the authentic and only Jewish version for understanding
the Torah and its development throughout history.[citation needed] Humanistic Judaism holds that the Torah
is a historical, political, and sociological text, but does not believe that every word of the Torah is true,
or even morally correct. Humanistic Judaism is willing to question the Torah and to disagree with it,
believing that the entire Jewish experience, not just the Torah, should be the source for Jewish behavior
and ethics.[69]

Divine significance of letters, Jewish mysticism

Further information: Kabbalah

Kabbalists hold that not only do the words of Torah give a divine message, but they also indicate a far
greater message that extends beyond them. Thus they hold that even as small a mark as a kotso shel yod
(‫)קוצו של יוד‬, the serif of the Hebrew letter yod (‫)י‬, the smallest letter, or decorative markings, or
repeated words, were put there by God to teach scores of lessons. This is regardless of whether that yod
appears in the phrase "I am the LORD thy God" (ָ‫אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיך‬, Exodus 20:2) or whether it appears in
"And God spoke unto Moses saying" (.‫ אֲנִי יְהוָה‬,‫מֹשֶׁה; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו‬-‫ אֶל‬,‫ וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים‬Exodus 6:2). In a similar
vein, Rabbi Akiva (c. 50 – c. 135 CE), is said to have learned a new law from every et (‫ )את‬in the Torah
(Talmud, tractate Pesachim 22b); the particle et is meaningless by itself, and serves only to mark the
direct object. In other words, the Orthodox belief is that even apparently contextual text such as "And
God spoke unto Moses saying ..." is no less holy and sacred than the actual statement.

Production and use of a Torah scroll

Main article: Sefer Torah

Page pointers, or yad, for reading of the Torah

Manuscript Torah scrolls are still scribed and used for ritual purposes (i.e., religious services); this is
called a Sefer Torah ("Book [of] Torah"). They are written using a painstakingly careful method by highly
qualified scribes. It is believed that every word, or marking, has divine meaning, and that not one part
may be inadvertently changed lest it lead to error. The fidelity of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the
Torah in particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are
frowned upon for formal service use, and transcribing is done with painstaking care. An error of a single
letter, ornamentation, or symbol of the 304,805 stylized letters that make up the Hebrew Torah text
renders a Torah scroll unfit for use, hence a special skill is required and a scroll takes considerable time
to write and check.

According to Jewish law, a sefer Torah (plural: Sifrei Torah) is a copy of the formal Hebrew text
handwritten on gevil or klaf (forms of parchment) by using a quill (or other permitted writing utensil)
dipped in ink. Written entirely in Hebrew, a sefer Torah contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be
duplicated precisely by a trained sofer ("scribe"), an effort that may take as long as approximately one
and a half years. Most modern Sifrei Torah are written with forty-two lines of text per column (Yemenite
Jews use fifty), and very strict rules about the position and appearance of the Hebrew letters are
observed. See for example the Mishnah Berurah on the subject.[70] Any of several Hebrew scripts may be
used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting.

The completion of the sefer Torah is a cause for great celebration, and it is a mitzvah for every Jew to
either write or have written for him a Sefer Torah. Torah scrolls are stored in the holiest part of the
synagogue in the Ark known as the "Holy Ark" (‫ אֲרוֹן הקֹדשׁ‬aron hakodesh in Hebrew.) Aron in Hebrew
means "cupboard" or "closet", and kodesh is derived from "kadosh", or "holy".

Torah translations

Aramaic

Main article: Targum

The Book of Ezra refers to translations and commentaries of the Hebrew text into Aramaic, the more
commonly understood language of the time. These translations would seem to date to the 6th century
BCE. The Aramaic term for translation is Targum.[71] The Encyclopedia Judaica has:

At an early period, it was customary to translate the Hebrew text into the vernacular at the time of the
reading (e.g., in Palestine and Babylon the translation was into Aramaic). The targum ("translation") was
done by a special synagogue official, called the meturgeman ... Eventually, the practice of translating
into the vernacular was discontinued.[72]

However, there is no suggestion that these translations had been written down as early as this. There
are suggestions that the Targum was written down at an early date, although for private use only.

The official recognition of a written Targum and the final redaction of its text, however, belong to the
post-Talmudic period, thus not earlier than the fifth century C.E.[73]

Greek

Main article: Septuagint

One of the earliest known translations of the first five books of Moses from the Hebrew into Greek was
the Septuagint. This is a Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible that was used by Greek speakers. This
Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures dates from the 3rd century BCE, originally associated with
Hellenistic Judaism. It contains both a translation of the Hebrew and additional and variant material.[74]

Later translations into Greek include seven or more other versions. These do not survive, except as
fragments, and include those by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion.[75]

Latin

Early translations into Latin—the Vetus Latina—were ad hoc conversions of parts of the Septuagint.
With Saint Jerome in the 4th century CE came the Vulgate Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible.

Arabic

From the eighth century CE, the cultural language of Jews living under Islamic rule became Arabic rather
than Aramaic. "Around that time, both scholars and lay people started producing translations of the
Bible into Judeo-Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet." Later, by the 10th century, it became essential for a
standard version of the Bible in Judeo-Arabic. The best known was produced by Saadiah (the Saadia
Gaon, aka the Rasag), and continues to be in use today, "in particular among Yemenite Jewry".[76]

Rav Sa'adia produced an Arabic translation of the Torah known as Targum Tafsir and offered comments
on Rasag's work.[77] There is a debate in scholarship whether Rasag wrote the first Arabic translation of
the Torah.[78]

Modern languages

Jewish translations

The Torah has been translated by Jewish scholars into most of the major European languages, including
English, German, Russian, French, Spanish and others. The most well-known German-language
translation was produced by Samson Raphael Hirsch. A number of Jewish English Bible translations have
been published, for example by Artscroll publications

Christian translations

As a part of the Christian biblical canons, the Torah has been translated into hundreds of languages.

In other religions

Samaritanism

See also: Samaritan Pentateuch

The five books of Moses constitute the entire scriptural canon of Samaritanism.

Christianity

See also: Biblical law in Christianity and Development of the Old Testament canon

Although different Christian denominations have slightly different versions of the Old Testament in their
Bibles, the Torah as the "Five Books of Moses" (or "the Mosaic Law") is common among them all.

Islam

See also: Torah in Islam and Islamic–Jewish relations

Islam states that the original Torah was sent by God. According to the Quran, Allah says, "It is He Who
has sent down the Book (the Quran) to you with truth, confirming what came before it. And He sent
down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)." [3:3] Muslims call the Torah the Tawrat and consider it
the word of God given to Moses. However, some Muslims also believe that this original revelation was
corrupted (tahrif) (or simply altered by the passage of time and human fallibility) over time by Jewish
scribes[79] . The Torah in the Quran is always mentioned with respect in Islam. The Muslims' belief in the
Torah, as well as the prophethood of Moses, is one of the fundamental tenets of Islam.
Open Torah case with scroll.

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í position on the Torah was composed in 1906 by its official interpreter on all matters religious,
`Abdu'l-Bahá,
Mishnah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Mishnah or Mishna (/ˈmɪʃnə/; Hebrew: ‫מִשְׁנָה‬, "study by repetition", from the verb shanah ‫שנה‬, or "to
study and review", also "secondary")[1] is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions
known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature.[2][3] The Mishnah was
redacted by Judah ha-Nasi at the beginning of the third century CE[4] in a time when, according to the
Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the
oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (536 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten.
Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, while some parts are Aramaic.

The Mishnah consists of six orders (sedarim, singular seder ‫)סדר‬, each containing 7–12 tractates
(masechtot, singular masechet ‫ ;מסכת‬lit. "web"), 63 in total, and further subdivided into chapters and
paragraphs. The word Mishnah can also indicate a single paragraph of the work, i.e. the smallest unit of
structure in the Mishnah. For this reason the whole work is sometimes referred to in the plural form,
Mishnayot.

Contents

 1 Structure

o 1.1 Omissions

o 1.2 Mishnah, Gemara, and Talmud

 2 Content and purpose

o 2.1 Oral law

o 2.2 The Mishnah and the Hebrew Bible

o 2.3 Rejection

 3 Authorship

 4 Mishnah studies

o 4.1 Textual variants

o 4.2 Manuscripts

o 4.3 Printed editions

o 4.4 Oral traditions and pronunciation

o 4.5 Commentaries

o 4.6 As a historical source

  5 Cultural references

 6 See also

 7 Notes

 8 References

o 8.1 English translations

o 8.2 Historical study

o 8.3 Recitation

 9 External links

o 9.1 Wikimedia projects

o 9.2 Digitised manuscripts

o 9.3 Other electronic texts

o 9.4 Mishnah study and the daily Mishnah

o 9.5 Audio lectures

o 9.6 Oral traditions and pronunciation

Structure

See also: List of masechtot, chapters, mishnahs and pages in the Talmud

The term "Mishnah" originally referred to a method of teaching by presenting topics in a systematic
order, as contrasted with Midrash, which followed the order of the Bible. As a written compilation, the
order of the Mishnah is by subject matter and includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects,
and discusses individual subjects more thoroughly, than the Midrash.

The Mishnah consists of six orders (sedarim, singular seder ‫)סדר‬, each containing 7–12 tractates
(masechtot, singular masechet ‫ ;מסכת‬lit. "web"), 63 in total. Each masechet is divided into chapters
(peraqim, singular pereq) and then paragraphs (mishnayot, singular mishnah). In this last context, the
word mishnah means a single paragraph of the work, i.e. the smallest unit of structure, leading to the
use of the plural, "Mishnayot", for the whole work.

Because of the division into six orders, the Mishnah is sometimes called Shas (an acronym for Shisha
Sedarim – the "six orders"), although that term is more often used for the Talmud as a whole.

The six orders are:

 Zeraim ("Seeds"), dealing with prayer and blessings, tithes and agricultural laws (11 tractates)

 Moed ("Festival"), pertaining to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals (12 tractates)

 Nashim ("Women"), concerning marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the
nazirite (7 tractates)
  Nezikin ("Damages"), dealing with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths
(10 tractates)

 Kodashim ("Holy things"), regarding sacrificial rites, the Temple, and the dietary laws (11
tractates) and

 Tohorot ("Purities"), pertaining to the laws of purity and impurity, including the impurity of the
dead, the laws of food purity and bodily purity (12 tractates).

In each order (with the exception of Zeraim), tractates are arranged from biggest (in number of
chapters) to smallest. A popular mnemonic consists of the acronym "Z'MaN NaKaT."[5]

The Babylonian Talmud (Hagiga 14a) states that there were either six hundred or seven hundred orders
of the Mishnah. Hillel the Elder organized them into six orders to make it easier to remember. The
historical accuracy of this tradition is disputed.[citation needed] There is also a tradition that Ezra the scribe
dictated from memory not only the 24 books of the Tanakh but 60 esoteric books. It is not known
whether this is a reference to the Mishnah, but there is a case for saying that the Mishnah does consist
of 60 tractates. (The current total is 63, but Makkot was originally part of Sanhedrin, and Bava Kamma,
Bava Metzia and Bava Batra may be regarded as subdivisions of a single tractate Nezikin.)

Reuvein Margolies (1889–1971) posited that there were originally seven orders of Mishnah, citing a
Gaonic tradition on the existence of a seventh order containing the laws of Sta"m (scribal practice) and
Berachot (blessings).[citation needed]

Omissions

A number of important laws are not elaborated upon in the Mishnah. These include the laws of tzitzit,
tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot, the holiday of Hanukkah, and the laws of conversion to Judaism. These
were later discussed in the minor tractates.

Nissim ben Jacob's Hakdamah Le'mafteach Hatalmud argued that it was unnecessary for Judah the
Prince to discuss them as many of these laws were so well known. Margolies suggests that as the
Mishnah was redacted after the Bar Kokhba revolt, Judah could not have included discussion of
Hanukkah, which commemorates the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire (the Romans would not
have tolerated this overt nationalism). Similarly, there were then several decrees in place aimed at
suppressing outward signs of national identity, including decrees against wearing tefillin and tzitzit; as
conversion to Judaism was against Roman law, Judah would not have discussed this.[6]

David Zvi Hoffmann suggests that there existed ancient texts analogous to the present-day Shulchan
Aruch that discussed the basic laws of day to day living and it was therefore not necessary to focus on
these laws in the Mishnah.

Mishnah, Gemara, and Talmud

Rabbinic commentaries on the Mishnah from the next four centuries, done in the Land of Israel and in
Babylonia, were eventually redacted and compiled as well. In themselves they are known as Gemara.
The books which set out the Mishnah in its original structure, together with the associated Gemara, are
known as Talmuds. Two Talmuds were compiled, the Babylonian Talmud (to which the term "Talmud"
normally refers) and the Jerusalem Talmud. Unlike the Hebrew Mishnah, the Gemara is written primarily
in Aramaic.

Content and purpose

The Mishnah teaches the oral traditions by example, presenting actual cases being brought to judgment,
usually along with (i) the debate on the matter, and (ii) the judgment that was given by a notable rabbi
based on halakha, mitzvot, and spirit of the teaching ("Torah") that guided his decision.

In this way, the Mishnah brings to everyday reality the practice of the mitzvot as presented in the Torah,
and aims to cover all aspects of human living, serve as an example for future judgments, and, most
important, demonstrate pragmatic exercise of the Biblical laws, which was much needed since the time
when the Second Temple was destroyed (70 CE). The Mishnah is thus not the development of new laws,
but rather the collection of existing traditions.[7]

The term "Mishnah" is related to the verb "shanah", to teach or repeat, and to the adjectives "sheni"
and "mishneh", meaning "second". It is thus named for being both the one written authority (codex)
secondary (only) to the Tanakh as a basis for the passing of judgment, a source and a tool for creating
laws, and the first of many books to complement the Tanakh in certain aspects.

Oral law

Main article: Oral Torah

Before the publication of the Mishnah, Jewish scholarship and judgement were predominantly oral, as
according to the Talmud, it was not permitted to write them down.[8] The earliest recorded oral law may
have been of the midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on
the Torah.[9] Rabbis expounded on and debated the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, without the benefit of
written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes
(‫ )מגילות סתרים‬for example of court decisions. The oral traditions were far from monolithic, and varied
among various schools, the most famous of which were the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel.

After First Jewish–Roman War in 70 CE, with the end of the Second Temple Jewish center in Jerusalem,
Jewish social and legal norms were in upheaval. The Rabbis were faced with the new reality of Judaism
without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and Judea without autonomy. It is
during this period that Rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing.[10][11] The possibility was felt
that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (530s BCE – 70 CE)
would be forgotten, so the justification was found to have these oral laws transcribed.[12][13]

Over time, different traditions of the Oral Law came into being, raising problems of interpretation.
According to the Mevo Hatalmud,[14] many rulings were given in a specific context, but would be taken
out of it; or a ruling was revisited but the second ruling would not become popularly known. To correct
this, Judah the Prince took up the redaction of the Mishnah. If a point was of no conflict, he kept its
language; where there was conflict, he reordered the opinions and ruled; and he clarified where context
was not given. The idea was not to use his own discretion, but rather to examine the tradition as far
back as he could, and only supplement as required.[15]

The Mishnah and the Hebrew Bible

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah (Hebrew: ‫פה‬-‫ )תורה שבעל‬was given to Moses with the
Torah at Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb as an exposition to the latter. The accumulated traditions of the
Oral Law, expounded by scholars in each generation from Moses onward, is considered as the necessary
basis for the interpretation, and often for the reading, of the Written Law. Jews sometimes refer to this
as the Masorah (Hebrew: ‫)מסורה‬, roughly translated as tradition, though that word is often used in a
narrower sense to mean traditions concerning the editing and reading of the Biblical text (see Masoretic
Text). The resulting Jewish law and custom is called halakha.

While most discussions in the Mishnah concern the correct way to carry out laws recorded in the Torah,
it usually presents its conclusions without explicitly linking them to any scriptural passage, though
scriptural quotations do occur. For this reason it is arranged in order of topics rather than in the form of
a Biblical commentary. (In a very few cases, there is no scriptural source at all and the law is described as
Halakha leMoshe miSinai, "law to Moses from Sinai".) The Midrash halakha, by contrast, while
presenting similar laws, does so in the form of a Biblical commentary and explicitly links its conclusions
to details in the Biblical text. These Midrashim often predate the Mishnah.

The Mishnah also quotes the Torah for principles not associated with law, but just as practical advice,
even at times for humor or as guidance for understanding historical debates.

Rejection

Some Jews did not accept the codification of the oral law at all. Karaite Judaism, for example, recognised
only the Tanakh as authoritative in Halakha (Jewish religious law) and theology. It vehemently rejected
the codification of the Oral Torah in the Mishnah and Talmud and subsequent works of mainstream
Rabbinic Judaism which maintained that the Talmud was an authoritative interpretations of the Torah.
Karaites maintained that all of the divine commandments handed down to Moses by God were recorded
in the written Torah without additional Oral Law or explanation. As a result, Karaite Jews did not accept
as binding the written collections of the oral tradition in the Midrash or Talmud. The Karaites comprised
a significant portion of the world Jewish population in the 10th and 11th centuries CE, and remain
extant, although they currently number in the thousands.

Authorship

Main article: Tannaim

The rabbis who contributed to the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim,[16][17] of whom approximately
120 are known. The period during which the Mishnah was assembled spanned about 130 years, or five
generations, in the first and second centuries CE. Judah ha-Nasi is credited with the final redaction and
publication of the Mishnah,[18] although there have been a few additions since his time:[19] those
passages that cite him or his grandson, Judah II, and the end of tractate Sotah, which refers to the
period after Judah's death. In addition to redacting the Mishnah, Judah and his court also ruled on which
opinions should be followed, although the rulings do not always appear in the text.

Most of the Mishnah is related without attribution (stam). This usually indicates that many sages taught
so, or that Judah the Prince ruled so. The halakhic ruling usually follows that view. Sometimes, however,
it appears to be the opinion of a single sage, and the view of the sages collectively (Hebrew: ‫חכמים‬,
hachamim) is given separately.
As Judah the Prince went through the tractates, the Mishnah was set forth, but throughout his life some
parts were updated as new information came to light. Because of the proliferation of earlier versions, it
was deemed too hard to retract anything already released, and therefore a second version of certain
laws were released. The Talmud refers to these differing versions as Mishnah Rishonah ("First Mishnah")
and Mishnah Acharonah ("Last Mishnah"). David Zvi Hoffmann suggests that Mishnah Rishonah actually
refers to texts from earlier Sages upon which Rabbi based his Mishnah.

The Talmud records a tradition that unattributed statements of the law represent the views of Rabbi
Meir (Sanhedrin 86a), which supports the theory (recorded by Sherira Gaon in his famous Iggeret) that
he was the author of an earlier collection. For this reason, the few passages that actually say "this is the
view of Rabbi Meir" represent cases where the author intended to present Rabbi Meir's view as a
"minority opinion" not representing the accepted law.

There are also references to the "Mishnah of Rabbi Akiva", suggesting a still earlier collection;[20] on the
other hand, these references may simply mean his teachings in general. Another possibility is that Rabbi
Akiva and Rabbi Meir established the divisions and order of subjects in the Mishnah, making them the
authors of a school curriculum rather than of a book.

Authorities are divided on whether Rabbi Judah the Prince recorded the Mishnah in writing or
established it as an oral text for memorisation. The most important early account of its composition, the
Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon (Epistle of Rabbi Sherira Gaon) is ambiguous on the point, although the
Spanish recension leans to the theory that the Mishnah was written. However, the Talmud records that,
in every study session, there was a person called the tanna appointed to recite the Mishnah passage
under discussion. This may indicate that, even if the Mishnah was reduced to writing, it was not
available on general distribution.

Mishnah studies

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Textual variants

Very roughly, there are two traditions of Mishnah text. One is found in manuscripts and printed editions
of the Mishnah on its own, or as part of the Jerusalem Talmud. The other is found in manuscripts and
editions of the Babylonian Talmud; though there is sometimes a difference between the text of a whole
paragraph printed at the beginning of a discussion (which may be edited to conform with the text of the
Mishnah-only editions) and the line-by-line citations in the course of the discussion.

Robert Brody, in his Mishna and Tosefta Studies (Jerusalem 2014), warns against over-simplifying the
picture by assuming that the Mishnah-only tradition is always the more authentic, or that it represents a
"Palestinian" as against a "Babylonian" tradition. Manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza, or citations in
other works, may support either type of reading or other readings altogether.

Manuscripts

Complete mss. bolded.

 Formal
Usual name Place written Period written Description
designation

Hungarian It is considered the best

Academy of manuscript and forms the base
10th, possibly
Kaufmann Sciences Library Prob. Palestine text of all critical editions.
11th C.
Kaufmann ms. Vocalization is by a different, later
A50 hand.

Palestine or Script shows

The Parma ms. is close to the
Southern Italy, strong similarities
Biblioteca Kaufmann ms. palaeographically
which in any case to Codex Hebr.
Parma Palatina ms. but not textually. Text is closest to
it reached soon Vaticanus 31,
Parm. 3173 the Mishnah quotations given in
after being written securely dated to
the Leiden Palestinian Talmud.
down 1073

Cambridge
A very careless copy, it is
Cambridge University
Sepharadic 14–15th C. nonetheless useful where the
/ Lowe Library ms. Add.
Kaufmann text is corrupt.
470 (II)

Toharot only. Unlike all of the

above mss., the vocalization and
consonant text are probably by the
Parma B North Africa 12–13th C.
same hand, which makes it the
oldest vocalization of part of the
Mishnah known.

Nezikin to Toharot. The consonant

National Library
Yemenite text is dependent on early printed
of Israel quarto Yemen 17–18th C.
ms. editions. The value of this ms. lies
1336
exclusively in the vocalization.

The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud, Volume 3 The
Literature of the Sages: First Part: Oral Tora, Halakha, Mishna, Tosefta, Talmud, External Tractates.
Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum, Ed. Shmuel Safrai, Brill, 1987, ISBN 9004275134

Printed editions

The first printed edition of the Mishnah was published in Naples. There have been many subsequent
editions, including the late 19th century Vilna edition, which is the basis of the editions now used by the
religious public.

Vocalized editions were published in Italy, culminating in the edition of David ben Solomon Altaras, publ.
Venice 1737. The Altaras edition was republished in Mantua in 1777, in Pisa in 1797 and 1810 and in
Livorno in many editions from 1823 until 1936: reprints of the vocalized Livorno editions were published
in Israel in 1913, 1962, 1968 and 1976. These editions show some textual variants by bracketing
doubtful words and passages, though they do not attempt detailed textual criticism. The Livorno
editions are the basis of the Sephardic tradition for recitation.

As well as being printed on its own, the Mishnah is included in all editions of the Babylonian and
Jerusalem Talmuds. Each paragraph is printed on its own, and followed by the relevant Gemara
discussion. However, that discussion itself often cites the Mishnah line by line. While the text printed in
paragraph form has generally been standardized to follow the Vilna edition, the text cited line by line in
the Gemara often preserves important variants, which sometimes reflect the readings of older
manuscripts.

The nearest approach to a critical edition is that of Hanoch Albeck. There is also an edition by Yosef
Qafiḥ of the Mishnah together with the commentary of Maimonides, which compares the base text
used by Maimonides with the Napoli and Vilna editions and other sources.

Oral traditions and pronunciation

Amar Rabbi Elazar

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0:00

A traditional setting of the last passage of the first tractate, Berakhot, which describes how
scholars of the Talmud create peace in the world. Performed by Cantor Meyer Kanewsky in
1919 for Edison Records.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

The Mishnah was and still is traditionally studied through recitation (out loud). Jewish communities
around the world preserved local melodies for chanting the Mishnah, and distinctive ways of
pronouncing its words.

Many medieval manuscripts of the Mishnah are vowelized, and some of these, especially some
fragments found in the Genizah, are partially annotated with Tiberian cantillation marks.[21]

Today, many communities have a special tune for the Mishnaic passage "Bammeh madliqin" in the
Friday night service; there may also be tunes for Mishnaic passages in other parts of the liturgy, such as
the passages in the daily prayers relating to sacrifices and incense and the paragraphs recited at the end
of the Musaf service on Shabbat. Otherwise, there is often a customary intonation used in the study of
Mishnah or Talmud, somewhat similar to an Arabic mawwal, but this is not reduced to a precise system
like that for the Biblical books. (In some traditions this intonation is the same as or similar to that used
for the Passover Haggadah.) Recordings have been made for Israeli national archives, and Frank Alvarez-
Pereyre has published a book-length study of the Syrian tradition of Mishnah reading on the basis of
these recordings.
Most vowelized editions of the Mishnah today reflect standard Ashkenazic vowelization, and often
contain mistakes. The Albeck edition of the Mishnah was vowelized by Hanokh Yalon, who made careful
eclectic use of both medieval manuscripts and current oral traditions of pronunciation from Jewish
communities all over the world. The Albeck edition includes an introduction by Yalon detailing his
eclectic method.

Two institutes at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have collected major oral archives which hold
(among other things) extensive recordings of Jews chanting the Mishnah using a variety of melodies and
many different kinds of pronunciation.[22] These institutes are the Jewish Oral Traditions Research Center
and the National Voice Archives (the Phonoteca at the Jewish National and University Library). See
below for external links.

Commentaries

 The two main commentaries on the Mishnah are the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem
Talmud. Neither work covers the whole Mishnah, but each work is on about 50–70% of the text.
The reason that the Talmud is not usually viewed as a commentary on the Mishnah, is because it
also has many other goals, and can get involved in long tangential discussions. However, the
main purpose of the Talmud is as a commentary on the Mishnah.

 In 1168, Maimonides (Rambam) published Kitab as-Siraj (The Book of the Lantern, Arabic: ‫ﻛﺘﺎﺏ‬
‫ )ﺍﻟﺴﺮﺍﺝ‬a comprehensive commentary on the Mishnah. It was written in Arabic using Hebrew
letters (what is termed Judeo-Arabic) and was one of the first commentaries of its kind. In it,
Rambam condensed the associated Talmudical debates, and offered his conclusions in a number
of undecided issues. Of particular significance are the various introductory sections – as well as
the introduction to the work itself[23] – these are widely quoted in other works on the Mishnah,
and on the Oral law in general. Perhaps the most famous is his introduction to the tenth chapter
of tractate Sanhedrin[24] where he enumerates the thirteen fundamental beliefs of Judaism.

 Rabbi Samson of Sens (France) was, apart from Maimonides, one of the few rabbis of the early
medieval era to compose a Mishnah commentary on some tractates. It is printed in many
editions of the Mishnah. It is interwoven with his commentary on major parts of the Tosefta.

 Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)'s commentary on some tractates

 Menachem Meiri's commentary on most of the Mishnah

 Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro (15th century) wrote one of the most popular
Mishnah commentaries. He draws on Maimonides' work but also offers Talmudical material (in
effect a summary of the Talmudic discussion) largely following the commentary of Rashi. In
addition to its role as a commentary on the Mishnah, this work is often referenced by students
of Talmud as a review-text, and is often referred to as "the Bartenura" or "the Ra'V".

 Yomtov Lipman Heller wrote a commentary called Tosafot Yom Tov. In the introduction Heller
says that his aim is to make additions (tosafoth) to Bertinoro’s commentary. The glosses are
sometimes quite detailed and analytic. That is why it is sometimes compared to the Tosafot –
discussions of Babylonian gemara by French and German scholars of the 12th–13th centuries. In
 many compact Mishnah printings, a condensed version of his commentary, titled Ikar Tosafot
Yom Tov, is featured.

 An 11th-century CE commentary of the Mishnah, composed by Rabbi Nathan ben Abraham,

President of the Academy in Eretz Israel. This relatively unheard-of commentary was first
printed in Israel in 1955.

 A 12th-century Italian commentary of the Mishnah, made by Rabbi Isaac ben Melchizedek (only
Seder Zera'im is known to have survived)

 Other Acharonim who have written Mishnah commentaries:

o The Melechet Shlomo (Solomon Adeni; early 17th century)

o Hon Ashir by Immanuel Hai Ricchi (Amsterdam 1731)

o The Vilna Gaon (Shenot Eliyahu on parts of the Mishnah, and glosses Eliyaho Rabba,
Chidushei HaGra, Meoros HaGra)

o Rabbi Akiva Eiger (glosses, rather than a commentary)

o The Mishnah Rishonah on Zeraim and the Mishnah Acharonah on Tehorot (Rav Efrayim
Yitzchok from Premishla)

o The Sidrei Tehorot on Kelim and Ohalot (the commentary on the rest of Tehorot and on
Eduyot is lost) by Gershon Henoch Leiner, the Radziner Rebbe

o The Gulot Iliyot (Rav Dov Ber Lifshitz) on Mikvaot

o The Ahavat Eitan by Rav Avrohom Abba Krenitz (the great grandfather of Rav Malkiel
Kotler)

o The Chazon Ish on Zeraim and Tohorot

 A prominent commentary from the 19th century is Tiferet Yisrael by Rabbi Israel Lipschitz. It is
subdivided into two parts, one more general and the other more analytical, titled Yachin and
Boaz respectively (after two large pillars in the Temple in Jerusalem). Although Rabbi Lipschutz
has faced some controversy in certain Hasidic circles, he was greatly respected by such sages as
Rabbi Akiva Eiger, whom he frequently cites, and is widely accepted in the Yeshiva world. The
Tiferet Yaakov is an important gloss on the Tiferet Yisrael.

 Symcha Petrushka's commentary was written in Yiddish in 1945 (published in Montreal).[25] Its
vocalization is supposed to be of high quality.

 The commentary by Rabbi Pinhas Kehati, which is written in Modern Israeli Hebrew and based
on classical and contemporary works, has become popular in the late 20th century. The
commentary is designed to make the Mishnah accessible to a wide readership. Each tractate is
introduced with an overview of its contents, including historical and legal background material,
and each Mishnah is prefaced by a thematic introduction. The current version of this edition is
printed with the Bartenura commentary as well as Kehati's.
  The encyclopedic editions put out by Mishnat Rav Aharon (Beis Medrosho Govoah, Lakewood)
on Peah, Sheviit, Challah, and Yadayim.

 The above-mentioned edition edited by Hanokh Albeck and vocalized by Hanokh Yellin (1952–
59) includes the former's extensive commentary on each Mishnah, as well as introductions to
each tractate (Masekhet) and order (Seder). This commentary tends to focus on the meaning of
the mishnayot themselves, without as much reliance on the Gemara's interpretation and is,
therefore, considered valuable as a tool for the study of Mishnah as an independent work.

 Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ginsburg wrote a commentary on ethical issues, Musar HaMishnah. The
commentary appears for the entire text except for Tohorot and Kodashim.

 Shmuel Safrai, Chana Safrai and Ze'ev Safrai have half completed a 45 volume socio-historic
commentary "Mishnat Eretz Yisrael".

As a historical source

Both the Mishnah and Talmud contain little serious biographical studies of the people discussed therein,
and the same tractate will conflate the points of view of many different people. Yet, sketchy biographies
of the Mishnaic sages can often be constructed with historical detail from Talmudic and Midrashic
sources.

According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica (Second Edition), it is accepted that Judah the Prince added,
deleted, and rewrote his source material during the process of redacting the Mishnah. Modern authors
who have provided examples of these changes include J.N. Epstein and S. Friedman.[26]

Following Judah the Prince's redaction there remained a number of different versions of the Mishnah in
circulation. The Mishnah used in the Babylonian rabbinic community differing markedly from that used
in the Palestinian one. Indeed within these rabbinic communities themselves there are indications of
different versions being used for study. These differences are shown in divergent citations of individual
Mishnah passages in the Talmud Yerushalmi and the Talmud Bavli, and in variances of medieval
manuscripts and early editions of the Mishnah. The best known examples of these differences is found
in J.N.Epstein’s Introduction to the Text of the Mishnah (1948).[26]

Epstein has also concluded that the period of the Amoraim was one of further deliberate changes to the
text of the Mishnah, which he views as attempts to return the text to what was regarded as its original
form. These lessened over time, as the text of the Mishnah became more and more regarded as
authoritative.[26]

Many modern historical scholars have focused on the timing and the formation of the Mishnah. A vital
question is whether it is composed of sources which date from its editor's lifetime, and to what extent is
it composed of earlier, or later sources. Are Mishnaic disputes distinguishable along theological or
communal lines, and in what ways do different sections derive from different schools of thought within
early Judaism? Can these early sources be identified, and if so, how? In response to these questions,
modern scholars have adopted a number of different approaches.

 Some scholars hold that there has been extensive editorial reshaping of the stories and
statements within the Mishnah (and later, in the Talmud.) Lacking outside confirming texts, they
hold that we cannot confirm the origin or date of most statements and laws, and that we can
 say little for certain about their authorship. In this view, the questions above are impossible to
answer. See, for example, the works of Louis Jacobs, Baruch M. Bokser, Shaye J. D. Cohen,
Steven D. Fraade.

 Some scholars hold that the Mishnah and Talmud have been extensively shaped by later
editorial redaction, but that it contains sources which we can identify and describe with some
level of reliability. In this view, sources can be identified to some extent because each era of
history and each distinct geographical region has its own unique feature, which one can trace
and analyze. Thus, the questions above may be analyzed. See, for example, the works of
Goodblatt, Lee Levine, David C. Kraemer and Robert Goldenberg.

 Some scholars hold that many or most of the statements and events described in the Mishnah
and Talmud usually occurred more or less as described, and that they can be used as serious
sources of historical study. In this view, historians do their best to tease out later editorial
additions (itself a very difficult task) and skeptically view accounts of miracles, leaving behind a
reliable historical text. See, for example, the works of Saul Lieberman, David Weiss Halivni,
Avraham Goldberg and Dov Zlotnick.
Talmud

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search

This article is about the Babylonian Talmud. For the Jerusalem Talmud, see Jerusalem Talmud.

"Talmudic" redirects here. "Talmudic Aramaic" refers to the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic as found in the
Talmud.

The Talmud (/ˈtɑːlmʊd, -məd, ˈtæl-/; Hebrew: ‫ )תַּלְמוּד‬is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the
primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology.[1][2][3] Until the advent of
modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and
was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of
Jews.[4]

The term "Talmud" normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian
Talmud (Talmud Bavli), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud
(Talmud Yerushalmi).[5] It may also traditionally be called Shas (‫)ש״ס‬, a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha
sedarim, or the "six orders" of the Mishnah.

The Talmud has two components; the Mishnah (Hebrew: ‫משנה‬, c. 200), a written compendium of
Rabbinic Judaism's Oral Torah; and the Gemara (Hebrew: ‫גמרא‬, c. 500), an elucidation of the Mishnah
and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the
Hebrew Bible. The term "Talmud" may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara
together.

The entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in the standard print, called the Vilna Shas, it is 2,711
double-sided folios.[6] It is written in Mishnaic Hebrew and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and contains the
teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis (dating from before the Common Era through to the fifth
century) on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and
folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law, and is widely quoted
in rabbinic literature.

Contents

 1 Etymology

 2 History

 3 Babylonian and Jerusalem

o 3.1 Jerusalem Talmud

o 3.2 Babylonian Talmud

o 3.3 Comparison of style and subject matter

 4 Structure
 o 4.1 Mishnah

o 4.2 Baraita

o 4.3 Gemara

o 4.4 Minor tractates

 5 Language

 6 Printing

o 6.1 Bomberg Talmud 1523

o 6.2 Benveniste Talmud 1645

o 6.3 Slavita Talmud 1795 and Vilna Talmud 1835

o 6.4 Goldschmidt Talmud 1897–1909, and German translation

o 6.5 Critical editions

o 6.6 Editions for a wider audience

 7 Translations

o 7.1 Talmud Bavli

o 7.2 Talmud Yerushalmi

 8 Scholarship

o 8.1 Geonim

o 8.2 Halakhic and Aggadic extractions

o 8.3 Commentaries

o 8.4 Pilpul

o 8.5 Sephardic approaches

o 8.6 Brisker method

o 8.7 Critical method

 8.7.1 Textual emendations

o 8.8 Historical analysis, and higher textual criticism

o 8.9 Contemporary scholarship

 9 Role in Judaism

o 9.1 Sadducees

o 9.2 Karaism
 o 9.3 Reform Judaism

o 9.4 Humanistic Judaism

o 9.5 Present day

 10 In visual arts

o 10.1 In Carl Schleicher's paintings

o 10.2 Jewish art & photography

 11 Other contexts

 12 Criticism

o 12.1 Middle Ages

o 12.2 19th century and after

o 12.3 Contemporary accusations

 13 See also

 14 References

o 14.1 Works cited

 14.1.1 Logic and methodology

 14.1.2 Modern scholarly works

 15 External links

Etymology

Talmud translates as "instruction, learning", from the Semitic root LMD, meaning "teach, study".[7]

History

Main article: Oral Torah

The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. The center column contains the
Talmud text, beginning with a section of Mishnah. The Gemara begins 14 lines down with the
abbreviation ‫( גמ‬gimmel-mem) in larger type. Mishnah and Gemara sections alternate throughout the
Talmud. The blocks of text on either side are the Rashi and Tosafot commentaries, printed in Rashi
script. Other notes and cross references are in the margins.

An early printing of the Talmud (Ta'anit 9b); with commentary by Rashi

Originally, Jewish scholarship was oral and transferred from one generation to the next. Rabbis
expounded and debated the Torah (the written Torah expressed in the Hebrew Bible) and discussed the
Tanakh without the benefit of written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some
may have made private notes (megillot setarim), for example, of court decisions. This situation changed
drastically, mainly as the result of the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth and the Second Temple
in the year 70 and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. As the rabbis were
required to face a new reality—mainly Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and
study) and Judea, the Roman province, without at least partial autonomy—there was a flurry of legal
discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It is during this period that
rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing.[a][b]
The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud, known as the Munich Talmud (Codex Hebraicus 95), dates
from 1342 and is available online.[c]

Babylonian and Jerusalem

The process of "Gemara" proceeded in what were then the two major centers of Jewish scholarship,
Galilee and Babylonia. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud
were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud or the Talmud Yerushalmi. It was
compiled in the 4th century in Galilee. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled about the year 500,
although it continued to be edited later. The word "Talmud", when used without qualification, usually
refers to the Babylonian Talmud.

While the editors of Jerusalem Talmud and Babylonian Talmud each mention the other community,
most scholars believe these documents were written independently; Louis Jacobs writes, "If the editors
of either had had access to an actual text of the other, it is inconceivable that they would not have
mentioned this. Here the argument from silence is very convincing."[8]

Jerusalem Talmud

Main article: Jerusalem Talmud

A page of a medieval Jerusalem Talmud manuscript, from the Cairo Geniza

The Jerusalem Talmud, also known as the Palestinian Talmud, or Talmuda de-Eretz Yisrael (Talmud of
the Land of Israel), was one of the two compilations of Jewish religious teachings and commentary that
was transmitted orally for centuries prior to its compilation by Jewish scholars in the Land of Israel.[9] It is
a compilation of teachings of the schools of Tiberias, Sepphoris, and Caesarea. It is written largely in
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, a Western Aramaic language that differs from its Babylonian
counterpart.[citation needed]

This Talmud is a synopsis of the analysis of the Mishnah that was developed over the course of nearly
200 years by the Academies in Galilee (principally those of Tiberias and Caesarea.) Because of their
location, the sages of these Academies devoted considerable attention to analysis of the agricultural
laws of the Land of Israel. Traditionally, this Talmud was thought to have been redacted in about the
year 350 by Rav Muna and Rav Yossi in the Land of Israel. It is traditionally known as the Talmud
Yerushalmi ("Jerusalem Talmud"), but the name is a misnomer, as it was not prepared in Jerusalem. It
has more accurately been called "The Talmud of the Land of Israel".[10]

Its final redaction probably belongs to the end of the 4th century, but the individual scholars who
brought it to its present form cannot be fixed with assurance. By this time Christianity had become the
state religion of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem the holy city of Christendom. In 325 Constantine the
Great, the first Christian emperor, said "let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish
crowd."[11] This policy made a Jew an outcast and pauper. The compilers of the Jerusalem Talmud
consequently lacked the time to produce a work of the quality they had intended. The text is evidently
incomplete and is not easy to follow.

The apparent cessation of work on the Jerusalem Talmud in the 5th century has been associated with
the decision of Theodosius II in 425 to suppress the Patriarchate and put an end to the practice of
semikhah, formal scholarly ordination. Some modern scholars have questioned this connection.

Despite its incomplete state, the Jerusalem Talmud remains an indispensable source of knowledge of
the development of the Jewish Law in the Holy Land. It was also an important resource in the study of
the Babylonian Talmud by the Kairouan school of Chananel ben Chushiel and Nissim ben Jacob, with the
result that opinions ultimately based on the Jerusalem Talmud found their way into both the Tosafot
and the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides.

Following the formation of the modern state of Israel there is some interest in restoring Eretz Yisrael
traditions. For example, rabbi David Bar-Hayim of the Makhon Shilo institute has issued a siddur
reflecting Eretz Yisrael practice as found in the Jerusalem Talmud and other sources.

Babylonian Talmud

A full set of the Babylonian Talmud

The Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) consists of documents compiled over the period of late antiquity
(3rd to 6th centuries).[12] During this time, the most important of the Jewish centres in Mesopotamia, a
region called "Babylonia" in Jewish sources and later known as Iraq, were Nehardea, Nisibis (modern
Nusaybin), Mahoza (al-Mada'in, just to the south of what is now Baghdad), Pumbedita (near present-day
al Anbar Governorate), and the Sura Academy, probably located about 60 km (37 mi) south of
Baghdad.[13]

The Babylonian Talmud comprises the Mishnah and the Babylonian Gemara, the latter representing the
culmination of more than 300 years of analysis of the Mishnah in the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia.
The foundations of this process of analysis were laid by Abba Arika (175–247), a disciple of Judah ha-
Nasi. Tradition ascribes the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud in its present form to two Babylonian
sages, Rav Ashi and Ravina II.[14] Rav Ashi was president of the Sura Academy from 375–427. The work
begun by Rav Ashi was completed by Ravina, who is traditionally regarded as the final Amoraic
expounder. Accordingly, traditionalists argue that Ravina's death in 475[15] is the latest possible date for
the completion of the redaction of the Talmud. However, even on the most traditional view a few
passages are regarded as the work of a group of rabbis who edited the Talmud after the end of the
Amoraic period, known as the Savoraim or Rabbanan Savora'e (meaning "reasoners" or "considerers").
Comparison of style and subject matter

There are significant differences between the two Talmud compilations. The language of the Jerusalem
Talmud is a western Aramaic dialect, which differs from the form of Aramaic in the Babylonian Talmud.
The Talmud Yerushalmi is often fragmentary and difficult to read, even for experienced Talmudists. The
redaction of the Talmud Bavli, on the other hand, is more careful and precise. The law as laid down in
the two compilations is basically similar, except in emphasis and in minor details. The Jerusalem Talmud
has not received much attention from commentators, and such traditional commentaries as exist are
mostly concerned with comparing its teachings to those of the Talmud Bavli.

Neither the Jerusalem nor the Babylonian Talmud covers the entire Mishnah: for example, a Babylonian
Gemara exists only for 37 out of the 63 tractates of the Mishnah. In particular:

 The Jerusalem Talmud covers all the tractates of Zeraim, while the Babylonian Talmud covers
only tractate Berachot. The reason might be that most laws from the Order Zeraim (agricultural
laws limited to the Land of Israel) had little practical relevance in Babylonia and were therefore
not included.[16] The Jerusalem Talmud has a greater focus on the Land of Israel and the Torah's
agricultural laws pertaining to the land because it was written in the Land of Israel where the
laws applied.

 The Jerusalem Talmud does not cover the Mishnaic order of Kodashim, which deals with
sacrificial rites and laws pertaining to the Temple, while the Babylonian Talmud does cover it. It
is not clear why this is, as the laws were not directly applicable in either country following the
Temple's destruction in year 70.

 In both Talmuds, only one tractate of Tohorot (ritual purity laws) is examined, that of the
menstrual laws, Niddah.

The Babylonian Talmud records the opinions of the rabbis of the Ma'arava (the West, meaning
Israel/Palestine) as well as of those of Babylonia, while the Jerusalem Talmud only seldom cites the
Babylonian rabbis. The Babylonian version also contains the opinions of more generations because of its
later date of completion. For both these reasons it is regarded as a more comprehensive collection of
the opinions available. On the other hand, because of the centuries of redaction between the
composition of the Jerusalem and the Babylonian Talmud, the opinions of early amoraim might be
closer to their original form in the Jerusalem Talmud.

The influence of the Babylonian Talmud has been far greater than that of the Yerushalmi. In the main,
this is because the influence and prestige of the Jewish community of Israel steadily declined in contrast
with the Babylonian community in the years after the redaction of the Talmud and continuing until the
Gaonic era. Furthermore, the editing of the Babylonian Talmud was superior to that of the Jerusalem
version, making it more accessible and readily usable. According to Maimonides (whose life began
almost a hundred years after the end of the Gaonic era), all Jewish communities during the Gaonic era
formally accepted the Babylonian Talmud as binding upon themselves, and modern Jewish practice
follows the Babylonian Talmud's conclusions on all areas in which the two Talmuds conflict.

Structure
The structure of the Talmud follows that of the Mishnah, in which six orders (sedarim; singular: seder) of
general subject matter are divided into 60 or 63 tractates (masekhtot; singular: masekhet) of more
focused subject compilations, though not all tractates have Gemara. Each tractate is divided into
chapters (perakim; singular: perek), 517 in total, that are both numbered according to the Hebrew
alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first mishnah. A perek may
continue over several (up to tens of) pages. Each perek will contain several mishnayot.[17]

Mishnah

Main article: Mishnah

The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. Statements in the Mishnah are typically
terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject; or recording only an unattributed ruling,
apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the
Tannaim.[citation needed]

Since it sequences its laws by subject matter instead of by biblical context, the Mishnah discusses
individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash, and it includes a much broader selection of
halakhic subjects than the Midrash. The Mishnah's topical organization thus became the framework of
the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Also, the
order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah.

 v

 t

 e

The Six Orders of the Mishnah (‫)שִׁשָּׁה סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה‬

Nashim Nezikin Kodashim Tohorot

Zeraim (Seeds) Moed (Festival)
(Women) (Damages) (Holies) (Purities)
(‫)זְרָעִים‬ (‫)מוֹעֵד‬
(‫)נָשִׁים‬ (‫)נְזִיקִין‬ (‫)קָדָשִׁים‬ (‫)טָהֳרוֹת‬

 Berakh  Shabba  Yevam  Bava  Zevachi  Keilim

ot t ot Kamma m
 Oholot
 Pe'ah  Eruvin  Ketubo  Bava  Menach
 Nega'im
t Metzia ot
 Demai  Pesahi
 Parah
m  Nedari  Bava  Hullin
 Kil'ayim
m Batra  Tohorot
 Shekali  Bekhor
 Shevi'it
m  Nazir  Sanhed ot  Mikva'ot
 Terumo rin
 Yoma  Sotah  Arakhin  Niddah
t
 Makkot
 Sukkah  Gittin  Temura  Makhshi
 Ma'ase
 Shevu'o h rin
rot  Beitza
t
  Ma'ase  Rosh  Kiddus  Eduyot  Keritot  Zavim
r Sheni Hashan hin
 Avodah  Me'ilah  Tevul
ah
 Challah Zarah Yom
 Tamid
 Ta'anit
 Orlah  Avot  Yadayim
 Middot
 Megilla
 Bikkuri  Horayot  Uktzim
h  Kinnim
m
 Mo'ed
Katan

 Hagiga
h

Baraita

Main article: Baraita

In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic teachings were current at about the same time or shortly
thereafter. The Gemara frequently refers to these tannaitic statements in order to compare them to
those contained in the Mishnah and to support or refute the propositions of the Amoraim.

The baraitot cited in the Gemara are often quotations from the Tosefta (a tannaitic compendium of
halakha parallel to the Mishnah) and the Midrash halakha (specifically Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre). Some
baraitot, however, are known only through traditions cited in the Gemara, and are not part of any other
collection.[18]

Gemara

Main article: Gemara

In the three centuries following the redaction of the Mishnah, rabbis in Palestine and Babylonia
analyzed, debated, and discussed that work. These discussions form the Gemara. The Gemara mainly
focuses on elucidating and elaborating the opinions of the Tannaim. The rabbis of the Gemara are
known as Amoraim (sing. Amora ‫)אמורא‬.[19]

Much of the Gemara consists of legal analysis. The starting point for the analysis is usually a legal
statement found in a Mishnah. The statement is then analyzed and compared with other statements
used in different approaches to biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism (or – simpler – interpretation of text
in Torah study) exchanges between two (frequently anonymous and sometimes metaphorical)
disputants, termed the makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). Another important function of
Gemara is to identify the correct biblical basis for a given law presented in the Mishnah and the logical
process connecting one with the other: this activity was known as talmud long before the existence of
the "Talmud" as a text.[20]

Minor tractates

Main article: Minor tractate

In addition to the six Orders, the Talmud contains a series of short treatises of a later date, usually
printed at the end of Seder Nezikin. These are not divided into Mishnah and Gemara.

Language

Within the Gemara, the quotations from the Mishnah and the Baraitas and verses of Tanakh quoted and
embedded in the Gemara are in either Mishnaic or Biblical Hebrew. The rest of the Gemara, including
the discussions of the Amoraim and the overall framework, is in a characteristic dialect of Jewish
Babylonian Aramaic.[21] There are occasional quotations from older works in other dialects of Aramaic,
such as Megillat Taanit. Overall, Hebrew constitutes somewhat less than half of the text of the Talmud.

This difference in language is due to the long time period elapsing between the two compilations.
During the period of the Tannaim (rabbis cited in the Mishnah), a late form of Hebrew known as
Rabbinic or Mishnaic Hebrew was still in use as a spoken vernacular among Jews in Judaea (alongside
Greek and Aramaic), whereas during the period of the Amoraim (rabbis cited in the Gemara), which
began around the year 200, the spoken vernacular was almost exclusively Aramaic. Hebrew continued
to be used for the writing of religious texts, poetry, and so forth.[22]

Even within the Aramaic of the gemara, different dialects or writing styles can be observed in different
tractates. One dialect is common to most of the Babylonian Talmud, while a second dialect is used in
Nedarim, Nazir, Temurah, Keritot, and Me'ilah; the second dialect is closer in style to the Targum.[23]

Printing

Bomberg Talmud 1523

The first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud was printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg 1520–
23[24][25][26][27] with the support of Pope Leo X.[28][29][30][31] In addition to the Mishnah and Gemara,
Bomberg's edition contained the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot. Almost all printings since Bomberg
have followed the same pagination. Bomberg's edition was considered relatively free of censorship.[32]

Benveniste Talmud 1645

Following Ambrosius Frobenius's publication of most of the Talmud in installments in Basel, Immanuel
Benveniste published the whole Talmud in installments in Amsterdam 1644–1648,[33] Although
according to Raphael Rabbinovicz the Benveniste Talmud may have been based on the Lublin Talmud
and included many of the censors' errors.[34]

Slavita Talmud 1795 and Vilna Talmud 1835

The edition of the Talmud published by the Szapira brothers in Slavita[35] was published in 1817,[36] and it
is particularly prized by many rebbes of Hasidic Judaism. In 1835, after a religious community
copyright[citation needed] was nearly over,[37] and following an acrimonious dispute with the Szapira family, a
new edition of the Talmud was printed by Menachem Romm of Vilna.

Known as the Vilna Edition Shas, this edition (and later ones printed by his widow and sons, the Romm
publishing house) has been used in the production of more recent editions of Talmud Bavli.

A page number in the Vilna Talmud refers to a double-sided page, known as a daf, or folio in English;
each daf has two amudim labeled ‫ א‬and ‫ב‬, sides A and B (recto and verso). The convention of
referencing by daf is relatively recent and dates from the early Talmud printings of the 17th century,
though the actual pagination goes back to the Bomberg edition. Earlier rabbinic literature generally
refers to the tractate or chapters within a tractate (e.g. Berachot Chapter 1, ‫)ברכות פרק א׳‬. It sometimes
also refers to the specific Mishnah in that chapter, where "Mishnah" is replaced with "Halakha", here
meaning route, to "direct" the reader to the entry in the Gemara corresponding to that Mishna (e.g.
Berachot Chapter 1 Halakha 1, ‫ברכות פרק א׳ הלכה א׳‬, would refer to the first Mishnah of the first chapter
in Tractate Berachot, and its corresponding entry in the Gemara). However, this form is nowadays more
commonly (though not exclusively) used when referring to the Jerusalem Talmud. Nowadays, reference
is usually made in format [Tractate daf a/b] (e.g. Berachot 23b, ‫)ברכות כג ב׳‬. Increasingly, the symbols "."
and ":" are used to indicate Recto and Verso, respectively (thus, e.g. Berachot 23:, ‫ברכות כג‬:). These
references always refer to the pagination of the Vilna Talmud. In the Vilna edition of the Talmud, there
are 5,894 folio pages.

Goldschmidt Talmud 1897–1909, and German translation

Lazarus Goldschmidt published an edition from the "uncensored text" of the Babylonian Talmud with a
German translation in 9 volumes (commenced Leipzig, 1897–1909, edition completed, following
emigration to England in 1933, by 1936).[38]

Critical editions

See also: Critical edition

The text of the Vilna editions is considered by scholars not to be uniformly reliable, and there have been
a number of attempts to collate textual variants.

1. In the late 19th century, Nathan Rabinowitz published a series of volumes called Dikduke
Soferim showing textual variants from early manuscripts and printings.

2. In 1960, work started on a new edition under the name of Gemara Shelemah (complete
Gemara) under the editorship of Menachem Mendel Kasher: only the volume on the first part of
tractate Pesachim appeared before the project was interrupted by his death. This edition
contained a comprehensive set of textual variants and a few selected commentaries.

3. Some thirteen volumes have been published by the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (a
division of Yad Harav Herzog), on lines similar to Rabinowitz, containing the text and a
comprehensive set of textual variants (from manuscripts, early prints and citations in secondary
literature) but no commentaries.[39]

There have been critical editions of particular tractates (e.g. Henry Malter's edition of Ta'anit), but there
is no modern critical edition of the whole Talmud. Modern editions such as those of the Oz ve-Hadar
Institute correct misprints and restore passages that in earlier editions were modified or excised by
censorship but do not attempt a comprehensive account of textual variants. One edition, by rabbi Yosef
Amar,[40] represents the Yemenite tradition, and takes the form of a photostatic reproduction of a Vilna-
based print to which Yemenite vocalization and textual variants have been added by hand, together with
printed introductory material. Collations of the Yemenite manuscripts of some tractates have been
published by Columbia University.[41]

Editions for a wider audience

A number of editions have been aimed at bringing the Talmud to a wider audience. The main ones are
as follows.

 The Steinsaltz Talmud, which contains the text with punctuation, detailed explanations and
translation. The Steinsaltz Edition is available in two formats: one with the traditional Vilna page
and one without. It is available in modern Hebrew (first volume published 1969), English (first
volume published 1989), French, Russian and other languages.

 Beginning in 2012, Koren Publishers Jerusalem launched the new Koren Talmud Bavli, a version
of the Steinsaltz Talmud which features a new, modern English translation and the commentary
of rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. This edition was praised for its "beautiful page" and "clean type".[42] It
includes color photos and illustrations, and Steinsaltz's historical, biographical and linguistic
notes in modern English translation. Opened as a Hebrew book, this edition preserves the
traditional Vilna page layout and includes vowels and punctuation; the Rashi commentary too is
punctuated. Opened as an English book, this edition breaks down the Talmud text into small,
thematic units and features the supplementary notes along the margins.

 The Schottenstein Talmud, published by ArtScroll: the first volume was published in 1990, and
the series was completed in 2004. Each page is printed in the traditional Vilna format, and
accompanied by an expanded paraphrase in English, in which the translation of the text is
shown in bold and explanations are interspersed in normal type.

 The Metivta edition, published by the Oz ve-Hadar Institute. This contains the full text in the
same format as the Vilna-based editions, with a full explanation in modern Hebrew on facing
pages as well as an improved version of the traditional commentaries.[43]

 A previous project of the same kind, called Talmud El Am, "Talmud to the people", was
published in Israel in the 1960s–80s. It contains Hebrew text, English translation and
commentary by Arnost Zvi Ehrman, with short 'realia', marginal notes, often illustrated, written
by experts in the field for the whole of Tractate Berakhot, 2 chapters of Bava Mezia and the
halachic section of Qiddushin, chapter 1.

Translations

Talmud Bavli

Part of a series of articles on

Editions of the Babylonian Talmud

Editions:[hide]

 Neusner Translation
  Rodkinson Translation

 Schottenstein Edition

 Soncino Edition

 Steinsaltz Edition

 v

 t

 e

There are six contemporary translations of the Talmud into English:

 The Noé Edition of the Koren Talmud Bavli, Adin Steinsaltz, Koren Publishers Jerusalem. This
work was launched in 2012. Opened from the right cover (front for Hebrew and Aramaic books),
this edition features the traditional Vilna page with vowels and punctuation in the original
Aramaic text. The Rashi commentary appears in Rashi script with vowels and punctuation.
Opened from the left cover the edition features bilingual text with side-by-side English/Aramaic
translation. The margins include color maps, illustrations and notes based on rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz’s Hebrew language translation and commentary of the Talmud. Rabbi Tzvi Hersh
Weinreb serves as the Editor-in-Chief. As of March 2017, 28 volumes have been published. The
entire set will be 42 volumes.

Koren Talmud Bavli

 The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition Adin Steinsaltz, Random House. This work is an English
edition of Rabbi Steinsaltz' complete Hebrew language translation of and commentary on the
entire Talmud. Incomplete—22 volumes and a reference guide.
  Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, Mesorah Publications (73 volumes). In this translation, each
English page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. The English pages are elucidated and heavily
annotated; each Aramaic/Hebrew page of Talmud typically requires three English pages of
translation and notes. Complete.

 The Soncino Talmud, Isidore Epstein, Soncino Press (26 volumes; also formerly an 18 volume
edition was published). Notes on each page provide additional background material. This
translation is published both on its own and in a parallel text edition, in which each English page
faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. It is available also on CD-ROM. Complete.

 The Talmud of Babylonia. An American Translation, Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, others.
Atlanta: 1984–1995: Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies. Complete.

 The Babylonian Talmud, translated by Michael L. Rodkinson. (1903, contains all of the tractates
in the Orders of Mo'ed/Festivals and Nezikin/Damages, plus some additional material related to
these Orders.) This is inaccurate[citation needed] and was wholly superseded by the Soncino
translation: it is sometimes linked to from the internet because, for copyright reasons, it was
until recently the only translation freely available on the Web (see below, under Full text
resources).

 The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, edited by Jacob Neusner[44] and
translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, Alan Avery-Peck, B. Barry Levy, Martin S. Jaffe, and
Peter Haas, Hendrickson Pub; 22-Volume Set Ed., 2011. It is a revision of "The Talmud of
Babylonia: An Academic Commentary," published by the University of South Florida Academic
Commentary Series (1994–1999). Neusner gives commentary on transition in use langes from
Biblical Aramaic to Biblical Hebrew. Neusner also gives references to Mishneh, Torah, and other
classical works in Orthodox Judaism.

A circa 1000 CE translation of the Talmud to Arabic is mentioned in Sefer ha-Qabbalah. This version was
commissioned by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and was carried out by Joseph ibn Abitur.

There is one translation of the Talmud into Arabic, published in 2012 in Jordan by the Center for Middle
Eastern Studies. The translation was carried out by a group of 90 Muslim and Christian scholars.[45] The
introduction was characterized by Dr. Raquel Ukeles, Curator of the Israel National Library's Arabic
collection, as "racist", but she considers the translation itself as "not bad".[46]

In February 2017, the William Davidson Talmud was released to Sefaria.[47] This translation is a version of
the Steinsaltz edition which was released under creative commons license.[48]

In 2018 Muslim-majority Albania co-hosted an event at the United Nations with Catholic-majority Italy
and Jewish-majority Israel celebrating the translation of the Talmud into Italian for the first time.[49]
Albanian UN Ambassador Besiana Kadare opined: “Projects like the Babylonian Talmud Translation open
a new lane in intercultural and interfaith dialogue, bringing hope and understanding among people, the
right tools to counter prejudice, stereotypical thinking and discrimination. By doing so, we think that we
strengthen our social traditions, peace, stability — and we also counter violent extremist tendencies.”[50]

Talmud Yerushalmi
  Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation Jacob Neusner, Tzvee
Zahavy, others. University of Chicago Press. This translation uses a form-analytical presentation
that makes the logical units of discourse easier to identify and follow. This work has received
many positive reviews. However, some consider Neusner's translation methodology
idiosyncratic. One volume was negatively reviewed by Saul Lieberman of the Jewish Theological
Seminary.

 Schottenstein Edition of the Yerushalmi Talmud Mesorah/Artscroll. This translation is the

counterpart to Mesorah/Artscroll's Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud (i.e. Babylonian
Talmud).

 The Jerusalem Talmud, Edition, Translation and Commentary, ed. Guggenheimer, Heinrich W.,
Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany

 German Edition, Übersetzung des Talmud Yerushalmi, published by Martin Hengel, Peter
Schäfer, Hans-Jürgen Becker, Frowald Gil Hüttenmeister, Mohr&Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany

 Modern Elucidated Talmud Yerushalmi, ed. Joshua Buch. Uses the Leiden manuscript as its
based text corrected according to manuscripts and Geniza Fragments. Draws upon Traditional
and Modern Scholarship[51]

Scholarship

From the time of its completion, the Talmud became integral to Jewish scholarship. A maxim in Pirkei
Avot advocates its study from the age of 15.[52] This section outlines some of the major areas of Talmudic
study.

Geonim

The earliest Talmud commentaries were written by the Geonim (c. 800–1000) in Babylonia. Although
some direct commentaries on particular treatises are extant, our main knowledge of Gaonic era Talmud
scholarship comes from statements embedded in Geonic responsa that shed light on Talmudic passages:
these are arranged in the order of the Talmud in Levin's Otzar ha-Geonim. Also important are practical
abridgments of Jewish law such as Yehudai Gaon's Halachot Pesukot, Achai Gaon's Sheeltot and Simeon
Kayyara's Halachot Gedolot. After the death of Hai Gaon, however, the center of Talmud scholarship
shifts to Europe and North Africa.

Halakhic and Aggadic extractions

One area of Talmudic scholarship developed out of the need to ascertain the Halakha. Early
commentators such as rabbi Isaac Alfasi (North Africa, 1013–1103) attempted to extract and determine
the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the Talmud. Alfasi's work was highly influential,
attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic
codes. Another influential medieval Halakhic work following the order of the Babylonian Talmud, and to
some extent modelled on Alfasi, was "the Mordechai", a compilation by Mordechai ben Hillel (c. 1250–
1298). A third such work was that of rabbi Asher ben Yechiel (d. 1327). All these works and their
commentaries are printed in the Vilna and many subsequent editions of the Talmud.
A 15th-century Spanish rabbi, Jacob ibn Habib (d. 1516), composed the Ein Yaakov. Ein Yaakov (or En
Ya'aqob) extracts nearly all the Aggadic material from the Talmud. It was intended to familiarize the
public with the ethical parts of the Talmud and to dispute many of the accusations surrounding its
contents.

Commentaries

Main article: Rabbinic literature

Further information: Yeshiva § Talmud study, and List of commentators on the Talmud

The commentaries on the Talmud constitute only a small part of Rabbinic literature in comparison with
the responsa literature and the commentaries on the codices. At the time when the Talmud was
concluded the traditional literature was still so fresh in the memory of scholars that there was no need
of writing Talmudic commentaries, nor were such works undertaken in the first period of the gaonate.
Paltoi ben Abaye (c. 840) was the first who in his responsum offered verbal and textual comments on
the Talmud. His son, Zemah ben Paltoi paraphrased and explained the passages which he quoted; and
he composed, as an aid to the study of the Talmud, a lexicon which Abraham Zacuto consulted in the
fifteenth century. Saadia Gaon is said to have composed commentaries on the Talmud, aside from his
Arabic commentaries on the Mishnah.[53]

There are many passages in the Talmud which are cryptic and difficult to understand. Its language
contains many Greek and Persian words that became obscure over time. A major area of Talmudic
scholarship developed to explain these passages and words. Some early commentators such as Rabbenu
Gershom of Mainz (10th century) and Rabbenu Ḥananel (early 11th century) produced running
commentaries to various tractates. These commentaries could be read with the text of the Talmud and
would help explain the meaning of the text. Another important work is the Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ (Book of
the Key) by Nissim Gaon, which contains a preface explaining the different forms of Talmudic
argumentation and then explains abbreviated passages in the Talmud by cross-referring to parallel
passages where the same thought is expressed in full. Commentaries (ḥiddushim) by Joseph ibn Migash
on two tractates, Bava Batra and Shevuot, based on Ḥananel and Alfasi, also survive, as does a
compilation by Zechariah Aghmati called Sefer ha-Ner.[54] Using a different style, rabbi Nathan b. Jechiel
created a lexicon called the Arukh in the 11th century to help translate difficult words.

By far the best known commentary on the Babylonian Talmud is that of Rashi (rabbi Solomon ben Isaac,
1040–1105). The commentary is comprehensive, covering almost the entire Talmud. Written as a
running commentary, it provides a full explanation of the words, and explains the logical structure of
each Talmudic passage. It is considered indispensable to students of the Talmud. Although Rashi drew
upon all his predecessors, his originality in using the material offered by them was unparalleled. His
commentaries, in turn, became the basis of the work of his pupils and successors, who composed a large
number of supplementary works that were partly in emendation and partly in explanation of Rashi's,
and are known under the title "Tosafot." ("additions" or "supplements"). The Tosafot are collected
commentaries by various medieval Ashkenazic rabbis on the Talmud (known as Tosafists or Ba'alei
Tosafot). One of the main goals of the Tosafot is to explain and interpret contradictory statements in the
Talmud. Unlike Rashi, the Tosafot is not a running commentary, but rather comments on selected
matters. Often the explanations of Tosafot differ from those of Rashi.[53]
In Yeshiva, the integration of Talmud, Rashi and Tosafot, is considered as the foundation (and
prerequisite) for further analysis; this combination is sometimes referred to by the acronym "gefet" (
‫ גפ״ת‬- Gemara, perush Rashi, Tosafot).

Among the founders of the Tosafist school were rabbi Jacob ben Meir (known as Rabbeinu Tam), who
was a grandson of Rashi, and, Rabbenu Tam's nephew, rabbi Isaac ben Samuel. The Tosafot
commentaries were collected in different editions in the various schools. The benchmark collection of
Tosafot for Northern France was that of R. Eliezer of Touques. The standard collection for Spain was that
of Rabbenu Asher ("Tosefot Harosh"). The Tosafot that are printed in the standard Vilna edition of the
Talmud are an edited version compiled from the various medieval collections, predominantly that of
Touques.[55]

Over time, the approach of the Tosafists spread to other Jewish communities, particularly those in
Spain. This led to the composition of many other commentaries in similar styles. Among these are the
commentaries of Nachmanides (Ramban), Solomon ben Adret (Rashba), Yom Tov of Seville (Ritva) and
Nissim of Gerona (Ran). A comprehensive anthology consisting of extracts from all these is the Shittah
Mekubbetzet of Bezalel Ashkenazi.

Other commentaries produced in Spain and Provence were not influenced by the Tosafist style. Two of
the most significant of these are the Yad Ramah by rabbi Meir Abulafia and Bet Habechirah by rabbi
Menahem haMeiri, commonly referred to as "Meiri". While the Bet Habechirah is extant for all of
Talmud, we only have the Yad Ramah for Tractates Sanhedrin, Baba Batra and Gittin. Like the
commentaries of Ramban and the others, these are generally printed as independent works, though
some Talmud editions include the Shittah Mekubbetzet in an abbreviated form.

In later centuries, focus partially shifted from direct Talmudic interpretation to the analysis of previously
written Talmudic commentaries. These later commentaries include "Maharshal" (Solomon Luria),
"Maharam" (Meir Lublin) and "Maharsha" (Samuel Edels), and are generally printed at the back of each
tractate.

Another very useful study aid, found in almost all editions of the Talmud, consists of the marginal notes
Torah Or, Ein Mishpat Ner Mitzvah and Masoret ha-Shas by the Italian rabbi Joshua Boaz, which give
references respectively to the cited Biblical passages, to the relevant halachic codes (Mishneh Torah,
Tur, Shulchan Aruch, and Se'mag) and to related Talmudic passages.

Most editions of the Talmud include brief marginal notes by Akiva Eger under the name Gilyon ha-Shas,
and textual notes by Joel Sirkes and the Vilna Gaon (see Textual emendations below), on the page
together with the text.

Commentaries discussing the Halachik-legal content include "Rosh", "Rif" and "Mordechai"; these are
now standard appendices to each volume. Rambam's Mishneh Torah is invariably studied alongside
these three; although a code, and therefore not in the same order as the Talmud, the relevant location
is identified via the "Ein Mishpat", as mentioned.

Pilpul

During the 15th and 16th centuries, a new intensive form of Talmud study arose. Complicated logical
arguments were used to explain minor points of contradiction within the Talmud. The term pilpul was
applied to this type of study. Usage of pilpul in this sense (that of "sharp analysis") harks back to the
Talmudic era and refers to the intellectual sharpness this method demanded.

Pilpul practitioners posited that the Talmud could contain no redundancy or contradiction whatsoever.
New categories and distinctions (hillukim) were therefore created, resolving seeming contradictions
within the Talmud by novel logical means.

In the Ashkenazi world the founders of pilpul are generally considered to be Jacob Pollak (1460–1541)
and Shalom Shachna. This kind of study reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries when expertise
in pilpulistic analysis was considered an art form and became a goal in and of itself within the yeshivot of
Poland and Lithuania. But the popular new method of Talmud study was not without critics; already in
the 15th century, the ethical tract Orhot Zaddikim ("Paths of the Righteous" in Hebrew) criticized pilpul
for an overemphasis on intellectual acuity. Many 16th- and 17th-century rabbis were also critical of
pilpul. Among them are Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Isaiah Horowitz, and Yair
Bacharach.

By the 18th century, pilpul study waned. Other styles of learning such as that of the school of Elijah b.
Solomon, the Vilna Gaon, became popular. The term "pilpul" was increasingly applied derogatorily to
novellae deemed casuistic and hairsplitting. Authors referred to their own commentaries as "al derekh
ha-peshat" (by the simple method)[56] to contrast them with pilpul.[57]

Sephardic approaches

Among Sephardi and Italian Jews from the 15th century on, some authorities sought to apply the
methods of Aristotelian logic, as reformulated by Averroes.[58] This method was first recorded, though
without explicit reference to Aristotle, by Isaac Campanton (d. Spain, 1463) in his Darkhei ha-Talmud
("The Ways of the Talmud"),[59] and is also found in the works of Moses Chaim Luzzatto.[60]

According to the present-day Sephardi scholar José Faur, traditional Sephardic Talmud study could take
place on any of three levels.[61]

 The most basic level consists of literary analysis of the text without the help of commentaries,
designed to bring out the tzurata di-shema'ta, i.e. the logical and narrative structure of the
passage.[62]

 The intermediate level, 'iyyun (concentration), consists of study with the help of commentaries
such as Rashi and the Tosafot, similar to that practised among the Ashkenazim.[63] Historically
Sephardim studied the Tosefot ha-Rosh and the commentaries of Nahmanides in preference to
the printed Tosafot.[64] A method based on the study of Tosafot, and of Ashkenazi authorities
such as Maharsha (Samuel Edels) and Maharshal (Solomon Luria), was introduced in late
seventeenth century Tunisia by rabbis Abraham Hakohen (d. 1715) and Tsemaḥ Tsarfati (d.
1717) and perpetuated by rabbi Isaac Lumbroso[65] and is sometimes referred to as 'Iyyun
Tunisa'i.[66]

 The highest level, halachah (Jewish law), consists of collating the opinions set out in the Talmud
with those of the halachic codes such as the Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch, so as to
study the Talmud as a source of law. (A project called Halacha Brura,[67] founded by Abraham
 Isaac Kook, presents the Talmud and a summary of the halachic codes side by side in book form
so as to enable this kind of collation.)

Today most Sephardic yeshivot follow Lithuanian approaches such as the Brisker method: the traditional
Sephardic methods are perpetuated informally by some individuals. 'Iyyun Tunisa'i is taught at the Kisse
Rahamim yeshivah in Bnei Brak.

Brisker method

In the late 19th century another trend in Talmud study arose. Rabbi Hayyim Soloveitchik (1853–1918) of
Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) developed and refined this style of study. Brisker method involves a reductionistic
analysis of rabbinic arguments within the Talmud or among the Rishonim, explaining the differing
opinions by placing them within a categorical structure. The Brisker method is highly analytical and is
often criticized as being a modern-day version of pilpul. Nevertheless, the influence of the Brisker
method is great. Most modern day Yeshivot study the Talmud using the Brisker method in some form.
One feature of this method is the use of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah as a guide to Talmudic
interpretation, as distinct from its use as a source of practical halakha.

Rival methods were those of the Mir and Telz yeshivas.[68]

Critical method

As a result of Jewish emancipation, Judaism underwent enormous upheaval and transformation during
the 19th century. Modern methods of textual and historical analysis were applied to the Talmud.

Textual emendations

The text of the Talmud has been subject to some level of critical scrutiny throughout its history. Rabbinic
tradition holds that the people cited in both Talmuds did not have a hand in its writings; rather, their
teachings were edited into a rough form around 450 CE (Talmud Yerushalmi) and 550 CE (Talmud Bavli.)
The text of the Bavli especially was not firmly fixed at that time.

The Gaonic responsa literature addresses this issue. Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, section 78, deals with
mistaken biblical readings in the Talmud. This Gaonic responsum states:

... But you must examine carefully in every case when you feel uncertainty [as to the credibility of the
text] – what is its source? Whether a scribal error? Or the superficiality of a second rate student who
was not well versed?....after the manner of many mistakes found among those superficial second-rate
students, and certainly among those rural memorizers who were not familiar with the biblical text. And
since they erred in the first place... [they compounded the error.]

— Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, Ed. Cassel, Berlin 1858, Photographic reprint Tel Aviv 1964, 23b.

In the early medieval era, Rashi already concluded that some statements in the extant text of the
Talmud were insertions from later editors. On Shevuot 3b Rashi writes "A mistaken student wrote this in
the margin of the Talmud, and copyists [subsequently] put it into the Gemara."[d]

The emendations of Yoel Sirkis and the Vilna Gaon are included in all standard editions of the Talmud, in
the form of marginal glosses entitled Hagahot ha-Bach and Hagahot ha-Gra respectively; further
emendations by Solomon Luria are set out in commentary form at the back of each tractate. The Vilna
Gaon's emendations were often based on his quest for internal consistency in the text rather than on
manuscript evidence;[69] nevertheless many of the Gaon's emendations were later verified by textual
critics, such as Solomon Schechter, who had Cairo Genizah texts with which to compare our standard
editions.[70]

In the 19th century Raphael Nathan Nota Rabinovicz published a multi-volume work entitled Dikdukei
Soferim, showing textual variants from the Munich and other early manuscripts of the Talmud, and
further variants are recorded in the Complete Israeli Talmud and Gemara Shelemah editions (see Critical
editions, above).

Today many more manuscripts have become available, in particular from the Cairo Geniza. The Academy
of the Hebrew Language has prepared a text on CD-ROM for lexicographical purposes, containing the
text of each tractate according to the manuscript it considers most reliable,[71] and images of some of
the older manuscripts may be found on the website of the Jewish National and University Library.[72] The
JNUL, the Lieberman Institute (associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America), the
Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (part of Yad Harav Herzog) and the Friedberg Jewish
Manuscript Society all maintain searchable websites on which the viewer can request variant
manuscript readings of a given passage.[73]

Further variant readings can often be gleaned from citations in secondary literature such as
commentaries, in particular those of Alfasi, Rabbenu Ḥananel and Aghmati, and sometimes the later
Spanish commentators such as Nachmanides and Solomon ben Adret.

Historical analysis, and higher textual criticism

Historical study of the Talmud can be used to investigate a variety of concerns. One can ask questions
such as: Do a given section's sources date from its editor's lifetime? To what extent does a section have
earlier or later sources? Are Talmudic disputes distinguishable along theological or communal lines? In
what ways do different sections derive from different schools of thought within early Judaism? Can
these early sources be identified, and if so, how? Investigation of questions such as these are known as
higher textual criticism. (The term "criticism" is a technical term denoting academic study.)

Religious scholars still debate the precise method by which the text of the Talmuds reached their final
form. Many believe that the text was continuously smoothed over by the savoraim.

In the 1870s and 1880s, rabbi Raphael Natan Nata Rabbinovitz engaged in historical study of Talmud
Bavli in his Diqduqei Soferim. Since then many Orthodox rabbis have approved of his work, including
rabbis Shlomo Kluger, Yoseph Shaul Ha-Levi Natanzohn, Yaaqov Ettlinger, Isaac Elhanan Spektor and
Shimon Sofer.

During the early 19th century, leaders of the newly evolving Reform movement, such as Abraham Geiger
and Samuel Holdheim, subjected the Talmud to severe scrutiny as part of an effort to break with
traditional rabbinic Judaism. They insisted that the Talmud was entirely a work of evolution and
development. This view was rejected as both academically incorrect, and religiously incorrect, by those
who would become known as the Orthodox movement. Some Orthodox leaders such as Moses Sofer
(the Chatam Sofer) became exquisitely sensitive to any change and rejected modern critical methods of
Talmud study.
Some rabbis advocated a view of Talmudic study that they held to be in-between the Reformers and the
Orthodox; these were the adherents of positive-historical Judaism, notably Nachman Krochmal and
Zecharias Frankel. They described the Oral Torah as the result of a historical and exegetical process,
emerging over time, through the application of authorized exegetical techniques, and more importantly,
the subjective dispositions and personalities and current historical conditions, by learned sages. This was
later developed more fully in the five-volume work Dor Dor ve-Dorshav by Isaac Hirsch Weiss. (See Jay
Harris Guiding the Perplexed in the Modern Age Ch. 5) Eventually their work came to be one of the
formative parts of Conservative Judaism.

Another aspect of this movement is reflected in Graetz's History of the Jews. Graetz attempts to deduce
the personality of the Pharisees based on the laws or aggadot that they cite, and show that their
personalities influenced the laws they expounded.

The leader of Orthodox Jewry in Germany Samson Raphael Hirsch, while not rejecting the methods of
scholarship in principle, hotly contested the findings of the Historical–Critical method. In a series of
articles in his magazine Jeschurun (reprinted in Collected Writings Vol. 5) Hirsch reiterated the
traditional view, and pointed out what he saw as numerous errors in the works of Graetz, Frankel and
Geiger.

On the other hand, many of the 19th century's strongest critics of Reform, including strictly orthodox
rabbis such as Zvi Hirsch Chajes, utilized this new scientific method. The Orthodox rabbinical seminary of
Azriel Hildesheimer was founded on the idea of creating a "harmony between Judaism and science".
Another Orthodox pioneer of scientific Talmud study was David Zvi Hoffmann.

The Iraqi rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer notes that the text of the Gemara has had changes and additions,
and contains statements not of the same origin as the original. See his Yehi Yosef (Jerusalem, 1991)
p. 132 "This passage does not bear the signature of the editor of the Talmud!"

Orthodox scholar Daniel Sperber writes in "Legitimacy, of Necessity, of Scientific Disciplines" that many
Orthodox sources have engaged in the historical (also called "scientific") study of the Talmud. As such,
the divide today between Orthodoxy and Reform is not about whether the Talmud may be subjected to
historical study, but rather about the theological and halakhic implications of such study.

Contemporary scholarship

Some trends within contemporary Talmud scholarship are listed below.

 Orthodox Judaism maintains that the oral Torah was revealed, in some form, together with the
written Torah. As such, some adherents, most notably Samson Raphael Hirsch and his followers,
resisted any effort to apply historical methods that imputed specific motives to the authors of
the Talmud. Other major figures in Orthodoxy, however, took issue with Hirsch on this matter,
most prominently David Tzvi Hoffmann.[74]

 Some scholars hold that there has been extensive editorial reshaping of the stories and
statements within the Talmud. Lacking outside confirming texts, they hold that we cannot
confirm the origin or date of most statements and laws, and that we can say little for certain
about their authorship. In this view, the questions above are impossible to answer. See, for
example, the works of Louis Jacobs and Shaye J.D. Cohen.
  Some scholars hold that the Talmud has been extensively shaped by later editorial redaction,
but that it contains sources we can identify and describe with some level of reliability. In this
view, sources can be identified by tracing the history and analyzing the geographical regions of
origin. See, for example, the works of Lee I. Levine and David Kraemer.

 Some scholars hold that many or most of the statements and events described in the Talmud
usually occurred more or less as described, and that they can be used as serious sources of
historical study. In this view, historians do their best to tease out later editorial additions (itself a
very difficult task) and skeptically view accounts of miracles, leaving behind a reliable historical
text. See, for example, the works of Saul Lieberman, David Weiss Halivni, and Avraham
Goldberg.

 Modern academic study attempts to separate the different "strata" within the text, to try to
interpret each level on its own, and to identify the correlations between parallel versions of the
same tradition. In recent years, the works of R. David Weiss Halivni and Dr. Shamma Friedman
have suggested a paradigm shift in the understanding of the Talmud (Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd
ed. entry "Talmud, Babylonian"). The traditional understanding was to view the Talmud as a
unified homogeneous work. While other scholars had also treated the Talmud as a multi-layered
work, Dr. Halivni's innovation (primarily in the second volume of his Mekorot u-Mesorot) was to
differentiate between the Amoraic statements, which are generally brief Halachic decisions or
inquiries, and the writings of the later "Stammaitic" (or Saboraic) authors, which are
characterised by a much longer analysis that often consists of lengthy dialectic discussion. The
Jerusalem Talmud is very similar to the Babylonian Talmud minus Stammaitic activity
(Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.), entry "Jerusalem Talmud"). Shamma Y. Friedman's Talmud
Aruch on the sixth chapter of Bava Metzia (1996) is the first example of a complete analysis of a
Talmudic text using this method. S. Wald has followed with works on Pesachim ch. 3 (2000) and
Shabbat ch. 7 (2006). Further commentaries in this sense are being published by Dr Friedman's
"Society for the Interpretation of the Talmud".[75]

 Some scholars are indeed using outside sources to help give historical and contextual
understanding of certain areas of the Babylonian Talmud. See for example the works of the Prof
Yaakov Elman[76] and of his student Dr. Shai Secunda,[77] which seek to place the Talmud in its
Iranian context, for example by comparing it with contemporary Zoroastrian texts.

Role in Judaism

The Talmud represents the written record of an oral tradition. It provides an understanding of how laws
are derived, and it became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes and customs, most importantly for
the Mishneh Torah and for the Shulchan Aruch. Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, Conservative Judaism
accept the Talmud as authoritative, while Samaritan, Karaite, Reconstructionist, and Reform Judaism do
not.

Sadducees

The Jewish sect of the Sadducees (Hebrew: ‫ )צְדוּקִים‬flourished during the Second Temple period. Principal
distinctions between them and the Pharisees (later known as Rabbinic Judaism) involved their rejection
of an Oral Torah and their denying a resurrection after death.
Karaism

Another movement that rejected the Oral Torah as authoritative was Karaism, which arose within two
centuries after completion of the Talmud. Karaism developed as a reaction against the Talmudic Judaism
of Babylonia. The central concept of Karaism is the rejection of the Oral Torah, as embodied in the
Talmud, in favor of a strict adherence only to the Written Torah. This opposes the fundamental Rabbinic
concept that the Oral Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai together with the Written Torah. Some
later Karaites took a more moderate stance, allowing that some element of tradition (called sevel ha-
yerushah, the burden of inheritance) is admissible in interpreting the Torah and that some authentic
traditions are contained in the Mishnah and the Talmud, though these can never supersede the plain
meaning of the Written Torah.

Reform Judaism

The rise of Reform Judaism during the 19th century saw more questioning of the authority of the
Talmud. Reform Jews saw the Talmud as a product of late antiquity, having relevance merely as a
historical document. For example, the "Declaration of Principles" issued by the Association of Friends of
Reform Frankfurt in August 1843 states among other things that:

The collection of controversies, dissertations, and prescriptions commonly designated by the name
Talmud possesses for us no authority, from either the dogmatic or the practical standpoint.

Some took a critical-historical view of the written Torah as well, while others appeared to adopt a neo-
Karaite "back to the Bible" approach, though often with greater emphasis on the prophetic than on the
legal books.

Humanistic Judaism

Within Humanistic Judaism, Talmud is studied as a historical text, in order to discover how it can
demonstrate practical relevance to living today.[78]

Present day

See also: Halakha § Views today, and Yeshiva § Talmud_study

Orthodox Judaism continues to stress the importance of Talmud study as a central component of
Yeshiva curriculum, in particular for those training to become rabbis. This is so even though Halakha is
generally studied from the medieval and early modern codes and not directly from the Talmud.
Talmudic study amongst the laity is widespread in Orthodox Judaism, with daily or weekly Talmud study
particularly common in Haredi Judaism and with Talmud study a central part of the curriculum in
Orthodox Yeshivas and day schools. The regular study of Talmud among laymen has been popularized by
the Daf Yomi, a daily course of Talmud study initiated by rabbi Meir Shapiro in 1923; its 13th cycle of
study began in August 2012 and ended with the 13th Siyum HaShas on January 1, 2020. The Rohr Jewish
Learning Institute has popularized the "MyShiur – Explorations in Talmud" to show how the Talmud is
relevant to a wide range of people.[79]

Conservative Judaism similarly emphasizes the study of Talmud within its religious and rabbinic
education. Generally, however, Conservative Jews study the Talmud as a historical source-text for
Halakha. The Conservative approach to legal decision-making emphasizes placing classic texts and prior
decisions in historical and cultural context, and examining the historical development of Halakha. This
approach has resulted in greater practical flexibility than that of the Orthodox. Talmud study forms part
of the curriculum of Conservative parochial education at many Conservative day-schools, and an
increase in Conservative day-school enrollments has resulted in an increase in Talmud study as part of
Conservative Jewish education among a minority of Conservative Jews. See also: The Conservative
Jewish view of the Halakha.

Reform Judaism does not emphasize the study of Talmud to the same degree in their Hebrew schools,
but they do teach it in their rabbinical seminaries; the world view of liberal Judaism rejects the idea of
binding Jewish law, and uses the Talmud as a source of inspiration and moral instruction. Ownership and
reading of the Talmud is not widespread among Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, who usually place
more emphasis on the study of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.

In visual arts

In Carl Schleicher's paintings

Rabbis and talmudists studying and debating Talmud abound in the art of Austrian painter Carl
Schleicher (1825–1903); active in Vienna, especially c. 1859–1871.


Jewish Scene I


Jewish Scene II
 
A Controversy Whatsoever on Talmud[80]


At the Rabbi's

Jewish art & photography


Jews studying Talmud, París, c. 1880–1905


Samuel Hirszenberg, Talmudic School, c. 1895–1908
 
Ephraim Moses Lilien, The Talmud Students, engraving, 1915


Maurycy Trębacz, The Dispute, c. 1920–1940


Solomon's Haggadoth, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem, by Benno Elkan, 1956


Hilel's Teachings, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah
 
Jewish Mysticism: Jochanan ben Sakkai, bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah


Yemenite Jews studying Torah in Sana'a

Other contexts

The study of Talmud is not restricted to those of the Jewish religion and has attracted interest in other
cultures. Christian scholars have long expressed an interest in the study of Talmud, which has helped
illuminate their own scriptures. Talmud contains biblical exegesis and commentary on Tanakh that will
often clarify elliptical and esoteric passages. The Talmud contains possible references to Jesus and his
disciples, while the Christian canon makes mention of Talmudic figures and contains teachings that can
be paralleled within the Talmud and Midrash. The Talmud provides cultural and historical context to the
Gospel and the writings of the Apostles.[81]

South Koreans reportedly hope to emulate Jews' high academic standards by studying Jewish literature.
Almost every household has a translated copy of a book they call "Talmud", which parents read to their
children, and the book is part of the primary-school curriculum.[82][83] The "Talmud" in this case is usually
one of several possible volumes, the earliest translated into Korean from the Japanese. The original
Japanese books were created through the collaboration of Japanese writer Hideaki Kase and Marvin
Tokayer, an Orthodox American rabbi serving in Japan in the 1960s and 70s. The first collaborative book
was 5,000 Years of Jewish Wisdom: Secrets of the Talmud Scriptures, created over a three-day period in
1968 and published in 1971. The book contains actual stories from the Talmud, proverbs, ethics, Jewish
legal material, biographies of Talmudic rabbis, and personal stories about Tokayer and his family.
Tokayer and Kase published a number of other books on Jewish themes together in Japanese.[84]

The first South Korean publication of 5,000 Years of Jewish Wisdom was in 1974, by Tae Zang publishing
house. Many different editions followed in both Korea and China, often by black-market publishers.
Between 2007 and 2009, Reverend Yong-soo Hyun of the Shema Yisrael Educational Institute published
a 6-volume edition of the Korean Talmud, bringing together material from a variety of Tokayer's earlier
books. He worked with Tokayer to correct errors and Tokayer is listed as the author. Tutoring centers
based on this and other works called "Talmud" for both adults and children are popular in Korea and
"Talmud" books (all based on Tokayer's works and not the original Talmud) are widely read and
known.[84]

Criticism

This article is of a series on

Criticism of religion

By religion[show]

By religious figure[show]

By text[show]

Religious violence[show]

Related topics[show]

 v

 t

 e

Historian Michael Levi Rodkinson, in his book The History of the Talmud, wrote that detractors of the
Talmud, both during and subsequent to its formation, "have varied in their character, objects and
actions" and the book documents a number of critics and persecutors, including Nicholas Donin,
Johannes Pfefferkorn, Johann Andreas Eisenmenger, the Frankists, and August Rohling.[85] Many attacks
come from antisemitic sources such as Justinas Pranaitis, Elizabeth Dilling, or David Duke. Criticisms also
arise from Christian, Muslim,[86][87][88] and Jewish sources,[89] as well as from atheists and skeptics.[90]
Accusations against the Talmud include alleged:[85][91][92][93][94][95][96]

1. Anti-Christian or anti-Gentile content[97][98][99][100]

2. Absurd or sexually immoral content[101]

3. Falsification of scripture[102][103][104]

Defenders of the Talmud argue that many of these criticisms, particularly those in antisemitic sources,
are based on quotations that are taken out of context, and thus misrepresent the meaning of the
Talmud's text and its basic character as a detailed record of discussions that preserved statements by a
variety of sages, and from which statements and opinions that were rejected were never edited out.

Sometimes the misrepresentation is deliberate, and other times simply due to an inability to grasp the
subtle and sometimes confusing and multi-faceted narratives in the Talmud. Some quotations provided
by critics deliberately omit passages in order to generate quotes that appear to be offensive or
insulting.[105][106]

Middle Ages

At the very time that the Babylonian savoraim put the finishing touches to the redaction of the Talmud,
the emperor Justinian issued his edict against deuterosis (doubling, repetition) of the Hebrew Bible.[107] It
is disputed whether, in this context, deuterosis means "Mishnah" or "Targum": in patristic literature, the
word is used in both senses.

Full-scale attacks on the Talmud took place in the 13th century in France, where Talmudic study was
then flourishing. In the 1230s Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, pressed 35 charges
against the Talmud to Pope Gregory IX by translating a series of blasphemous passages about Jesus,
Mary or Christianity. There is a quoted Talmudic passage, for example, where Jesus of Nazareth is sent
to Hell to be boiled in excrement for eternity. Donin also selected an injunction of the Talmud that
permits Jews to kill non-Jews. This led to the Disputation of Paris, which took place in 1240 at the court
of Louis IX of France, where four rabbis, including Yechiel of Paris and Moses ben Jacob of Coucy,
defended the Talmud against the accusations of Nicholas Donin. The translation of the Talmud from
Aramaic to non-Jewish languages stripped Jewish discourse from its covering, something that was
resented by Jews as a profound violation.[108] The Disputation of Paris led to the condemnation and the
first burning of copies of the Talmud in Paris in 1242.[109][110][e] The burning of copies of the Talmud
continued.[111]

The Talmud was likewise the subject of the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263 between Nahmanides
(rabbi Moses ben Nahman) and Christian convert, Pablo Christiani. This same Pablo Christiani made an
attack on the Talmud that resulted in a papal bull against the Talmud and in the first censorship, which
was undertaken at Barcelona by a commission of Dominicans, who ordered the cancellation of passages
deemed objectionable from a Christian perspective (1264).[112][113]

At the Disputation of Tortosa in 1413, Geronimo de Santa Fé brought forward a number of accusations,
including the fateful assertion that the condemnations of "pagans", "heathens", and "apostates" found
in the Talmud were in reality veiled references to Christians. These assertions were denied by the Jewish
community and its scholars, who contended that Judaic thought made a sharp distinction between
those classified as heathen or pagan, being polytheistic, and those who acknowledge one true God (such
as the Christians) even while worshipping the true monotheistic God incorrectly. Thus, Jews viewed
Christians as misguided and in error, but not among the "heathens" or "pagans" discussed in the
Talmud.[113]

Both Pablo Christiani and Geronimo de Santa Fé, in addition to criticizing the Talmud, also regarded it as
a source of authentic traditions, some of which could be used as arguments in favour of Christianity.
Examples of such traditions were statements that the Messiah was born around the time of the
destruction of the Temple, and that the Messiah sat at the right hand of God.[114]

In 1415, Antipope Benedict XIII, who had convened the Tortosa disputation, issued a papal bull (which
was destined, however, to remain inoperative) forbidding the Jews to read the Talmud, and ordering the
destruction of all copies of it. Far more important were the charges made in the early part of the 16th
century by the convert Johannes Pfefferkorn, the agent of the Dominicans. The result of these
accusations was a struggle in which the emperor and the pope acted as judges, the advocate of the Jews
being Johann Reuchlin, who was opposed by the obscurantists; and this controversy, which was carried
on for the most part by means of pamphlets, became in the eyes of some a precursor of the
Reformation.[113][115]

An unexpected result of this affair was the complete printed edition of the Babylonian Talmud issued in
1520 by Daniel Bomberg at Venice, under the protection of a papal privilege.[116] Three years later, in
1523, Bomberg published the first edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. After thirty years the Vatican, which
had first permitted the Talmud to appear in print, undertook a campaign of destruction against it. On
the New Year, Rosh Hashanah (September 9, 1553) the copies of the Talmud confiscated in compliance
with a decree of the Inquisition were burned at Rome, in Campo dei Fiori (auto de fé). Other burnings
took place in other Italian cities, such as the one instigated by Joshua dei Cantori at Cremona in 1559.
Censorship of the Talmud and other Hebrew works was introduced by a papal bull issued in 1554; five
years later the Talmud was included in the first Index Expurgatorius; and Pope Pius IV commanded, in
1565, that the Talmud be deprived of its very name. The convention of referring to the work as "Shas"
(shishah sidre Mishnah) instead of "Talmud" dates from this time.[117]

The first edition of the expurgated Talmud, on which most subsequent editions were based, appeared at
Basel (1578–1581) with the omission of the entire treatise of 'Abodah Zarah and of passages considered
inimical to Christianity, together with modifications of certain phrases. A fresh attack on the Talmud was
decreed by Pope Gregory XIII (1575–85), and in 1593 Clement VIII renewed the old interdiction against
reading or owning it.[citation needed] The increasing study of the Talmud in Poland led to the issue of a
complete edition (Kraków, 1602–05), with a restoration of the original text; an edition containing, so far
as known, only two treatises had previously been published at Lublin (1559–76). After an attack on the
Talmud took place in Poland (in what is now Ukrainian territory) in 1757, when Bishop Dembowski, at
the instigation of the Frankists, convened a public disputation at Kamianets-Podilskyi, and ordered all
copies of the work found in his bishopric to be confiscated and burned.[118]

The external history of the Talmud includes also the literary attacks made upon it by some Christian
theologians after the Reformation, since these onslaughts on Judaism were directed primarily against
that work, the leading example being Eisenmenger's Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Unmasked)
(1700).[119][120][121] In contrast, the Talmud was a subject of rather more sympathetic study by many
Christian theologians, jurists and Orientalists from the Renaissance on, including Johann Reuchlin, John
Selden, Petrus Cunaeus, John Lightfoot and Johannes Buxtorf father and son.[122]

19th century and after

The Vilna edition of the Talmud was subject to Russian government censorship, or self-censorship to
meet government expectations, though this was less severe than some previous attempts: the title
"Talmud" was retained and the tractate Avodah Zarah was included. Most modern editions are either
copies of or closely based on the Vilna edition, and therefore still omit most of the disputed passages.
Although they were not available for many generations, the removed sections of the Talmud, Rashi,
Tosafot and Maharsha were preserved through rare printings of lists of errata, known as Chesronos
Hashas ("Omissions of the Talmud").[123] Many of these censored portions were recovered from
uncensored manuscripts in the Vatican Library. Some modern editions of the Talmud contain some or all
of this material, either at the back of the book, in the margin, or in its original location in the text.[124]
In 1830, during a debate in the French Chamber of Peers regarding state recognition of the Jewish faith,
Admiral Verhuell declared himself unable to forgive the Jews whom he had met during his travels
throughout the world either for their refusal to recognize Jesus as the Messiah or for their possession of
the Talmud.[125] In the same year the Abbé Chiarini published a voluminous work entitled Théorie du
Judaïsme, in which he announced a translation of the Talmud, advocating for the first time a version that
would make the work generally accessible, and thus serve for attacks on Judaism: only two out of the
projected six volumes of this translation appeared.[126] In a like spirit 19th-century anti-Semitic agitators
often urged that a translation be made; and this demand was even brought before legislative bodies, as
in Vienna. The Talmud and the "Talmud Jew" thus became objects of anti-Semitic attacks, for example in
August Rohling's Der Talmudjude (1871), although, on the other hand, they were defended by many
Christian students of the Talmud, notably Hermann Strack.[127]

Further attacks from anti-Semitic sources include Justinas Pranaitis' The Talmud Unmasked: The Secret
Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians (1892)[128] and Elizabeth Dilling's The Plot Against Christianity
(1964).[129] The criticisms of the Talmud in many modern pamphlets and websites are often recognisable
as verbatim quotations from one or other of these.[130]

Historians Will and Ariel Durant noted a lack of consistency between the many authors of the Talmud,
with some tractates in the wrong order, or subjects dropped and resumed without reason. According to
the Durants, the Talmud "is not the product of deliberation, it is the deliberation itself."[131]

Contemporary accusations

The Internet is another source of criticism of the Talmud.[130] The Anti-Defamation League's report on
this topic states that antisemitic critics of the Talmud frequently use erroneous translations or selective
quotations in order to distort the meaning of the Talmud's text, and sometimes fabricate passages. In
addition, the attackers rarely provide full context of the quotations, and fail to provide contextual
information about the culture that the Talmud was composed in, nearly 2,000 years ago.[132]

One such example concerns the line: "If a Jew be called upon to explain any part of the rabbinic books,
he ought to give only a false explanation. Who ever will violate this order shall be put to death." This is
alleged to be a quote from a book titled Libbre David (alternatively Livore David ). No such book exists in
the Talmud or elsewhere.[133] The title is assumed to be a corruption of Dibre David, a work published in
1671.[134] Reference to the quote is found in an early Holocaust denial book, The Six Million Reconsidered
by William Grimstad.[135]

Gil Student, Book Editor of the Orthodox Union's Jewish Action magazine, states that many attacks on
the Talmud are merely recycling discredited material that originated in the 13th-century disputations,
particularly from Raymond Marti and Nicholas Donin, and that the criticisms are based on quotations
taken out of context and are sometimes entirely fabricated.[136]
Halakha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Not to be confused with Halakha LeMoshe MiSinai.

Halakha (/hɑːˈlɔːxə/;[1] Hebrew: ‫הֲלָכָה‬, Sephardic: [halaˈχa]; also transliterated as halacha, halakhah,
halachah, or halocho) (Ashkenazic: [haˈloχo]) is the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from
the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments (mitzvot), subsequent Talmudic
and rabbinic law, and the customs and traditions compiled in the many books such as the Shulchan
Aruch. Halakha is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation might be "the way
to behave" or "the way of walking". The word derives from the root that means "to behave" (also "to
go" or "to walk"). Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but also numerous aspects of
day-to-day life.[2]

Historically, in the Jewish diaspora, halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue
of law – both civil and religious, since no differentiation exists in classical Judaism. Since the Jewish
Enlightenment (Haskalah) and Jewish emancipation, some have come to view the halakha as less
binding in day-to-day life, as it relies on rabbinic interpretation, as opposed to the authoritative,
canonical text recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Under contemporary Israeli law, certain areas of Israeli
family and personal status law are under the authority of the rabbinic courts, so are treated according to
halakha. Some differences in halakha are found among Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Sephardi, Yemenite,
Ethiopian and other Jewish communities which historically lived in isolation.[3]

Contents

 1 Etymology and terminology

 2 Commandments (mitzvot)

 3 Sources and process

o 3.1 Historical analysis

 4 Views today

o 4.1 Flexibility

o 4.2 Denominational approaches

 4.2.1 Orthodox Judaism

 4.2.2 Conservative Judaism

 5 Codes of Jewish law

 6 See also
  7 References

 8 Bibliography

 9 External links

o 9.1 Full-text resources of major halakhic works

Etymology and terminology

A full set of the Babylonian Talmud

The word halakha is derived from the Hebrew root halakh – "to walk" or "to go".[4]:252 Taken literally,
therefore, halakha translates as "the way to walk", rather than "law". The word halakha refers to the
corpus of rabbinic legal texts, or to the overall system of religious law. The term may also be related to
Akkadian ilku, a property tax, rendered in Aramaic as halakh, designating one or several obligations.[5]

Halakha is often contrasted with aggadah ("the telling"), the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical,
narrative, philosophical, mystical, and other "non-legal" texts.[5] At the same time, since writers of
halakha may draw upon the aggadic and even mystical literature, a dynamic interchange occurs
between the genres. Halakha also does not include the parts of the Torah not related to
commandments.

Halakha constitutes the practical application of the 613 mitzvot ("commandments") in the Torah, as
developed through discussion and debate in the classical rabbinic literature, especially the Mishnah and
the Talmud (the "Oral Torah"), and as codified in the Mishneh Torah and Shulchan Aruch.[6] Because
halakha is developed and applied by various halakhic authorities rather than one sole "official voice",
different individuals and communities may well have different answers to halakhic questions. With few
exceptions, controversies are not settled through authoritative structures because during the Jewish
diaspora, Jews lacked a single judicial hierarchy or appellate review process for halakha.

Commandments (mitzvot)

Main articles: Mitzvah § Mitzvot and Jewish law, and 613 commandments

According to the Talmud (Tractate Makot), 613 mitzvot are in the Torah, 248 positive ("thou shalt")
mitzvot and 365 negative ("thou shalt not") mitzvot, supplemented by seven mitzvot legislated by the
rabbis of antiquity.[7]
Rabbinic Judaism divides laws into categories:[8][9]

Sefer Torah at Glockengasse Synagogue (museum exhibits), Cologne

 The Law of Moses which are believed to have been revealed by God to the Israelites at biblical
Mount Sinai. These laws are composed of the following:

o The Written Torah, laws written in the Hebrew Bible.

o The Oral Torah, laws believed to have been transmitted orally prior to their later
compilation in texts such as the Mishnah, Talmud, and rabbinic codes.

 Laws of human origin, including rabbinic decrees, interpretations, customs, etc.

This division between revealed and rabbinic commandments may influence the importance of a rule, its
enforcement and the nature of its ongoing interpretation.[8] Halakhic authorities may disagree on which
laws fall into which categories or the circumstances (if any) under which prior rabbinic rulings can be re-
examined by contemporary rabbis, but all Halakhic Jews hold that both categories exist[citation needed] and
that the first category is immutable, with exceptions only for life-saving and similar emergency
circumstances.

A second classical distinction is between the Written Law, laws written in the Hebrew Bible, and the Oral
Law, laws which are believed to have been transmitted orally prior to their later compilation in texts
such as the Mishnah, Talmud, and rabbinic codes.

Commandments are divided into positive and negative commands, which are treated differently in
terms of divine and human punishment. Positive commandments require an action to be performed and
are considered to bring the performer closer to God. Negative commandments (traditionally 365 in
number) forbid a specific action, and violations create a distance from God.

A further division is made between chukim ("decrees" – laws without obvious explanation, such as
shatnez, the law prohibiting wearing clothing made of mixtures of linen and wool), mishpatim
("judgements" – laws with obvious social implications) and eduyot ("testimonies" or "commemorations",
such as the Shabbat and holidays). Through the ages, various rabbinical authorities have classified some
of the 613 commandments in many ways.

A different approach divides the laws into a different set of categories:[citation needed]

 Laws in relation to God (bein adam laMakom, lit. "between a person and the Place"), and

 Laws about relations with other people (bein adam le-chavero, "between a person and his
friend").

Sources and process

Eras of Jewish law

 Chazal (lit. "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"): all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta
and Talmud eras (c. 250 BCE – c. 625 CE).

o The Zugot ("pairs"), both the 200-year period (c. 170 BCE – 30 CE, "Era of the Pairs")
during the Second Temple period in which the spiritual leadership was in the hands of
five successions of "pairs" of religious teachers, and to each of these pairs themselves.

o The Tannaim ("repeaters") were rabbis living primarily in Eretz Yisrael who codified the
Oral Torah in the form of the Mishnah; 0–200 CE.

o The Amoraim ("sayers") lived in both Eretz Yisrael and Babylonia. Their teachings and
discussions were compiled into the two versions of the Gemara; 200–500.

o The Savoraim ("reasoners") lived primarily in Sassanid Babylonia due to the suppression
of Judaism in the Eastern Roman Empire under Theodosius II; 500–650.

 The Geonim ("greats" or "geniuses") presided over the two major Babylonian Academies of Sura
and Pumbedita; 650–1038.

 The Rishonim ("firsts") are the rabbis of the late medieval period (c. 1038–1563), preceding the
Shulchan Aruch.

 The Acharonim ("lasts") are the rabbis from c. 1500 to the present.

See also: Rabbinic literature

The development of halakha in the period before the Maccabees, which has been described as the
formative period in the history of its development, is shrouded in obscurity. Historian Yitzhak Baer
argued that there was little pure academic legal activity at this period and that many of the laws
originating at this time were produced by a means of neighbourly good conduct rules in a similar way as
carried out by Greeks in the age of Solon.[10] For example, the first chapter of Bava Kamma, contains a
formulation of the law of torts worded in the first person.[4]:256

The boundaries of Jewish law are determined through the Halakhic process, a religious-ethical system of
legal reasoning. Rabbis generally base their opinions on the primary sources of halakha as well as on
precedent set by previous rabbinic opinions. The major sources and genre of halakha consulted include:
  The foundational Talmudic literature (especially the Mishna and the Babylonian Talmud) with
commentaries;

o Talmudic hermeneutics: the science which defines the rules and methods for the
investigation and exact determination of the meaning of the Scriptures; includes also
the rules by which the Halakhot are derived from and established by the written law.
These may be seen as the rules by which early Jewish law was derived.

o Gemara – the Talmudic process of elucidating the halakha

 The post-Talmudic codificatory literature, such as Maimonides's Mishneh Torah and the
Shulchan Aruch with its commentaries (see #Codes of Jewish law below);

 Regulations and other "legislative" enactments promulgated by rabbis and communal bodies:

o Gezeirah ("declaration"): "preventative legislation" of the rabbis, intended to prevent

violations of the commandments

o Takkanah ("repair" or "regulation"): "positive legislation", practices instituted by the

rabbis not based (directly) on the commandments

 Minhag: Customs, community practices, and customary law, as well as the exemplary deeds of
prominent (or local) rabbis;

 The she'eloth u-teshuvoth (responsa, "questions and answers") literature.

 Dina d'malchuta dina ("the law of the king is law"): an additional aspect of halakha, being the
principle recognizing non-Jewish laws and non-Jewish legal jurisdiction as binding on Jewish
citizens, provided that they are not contrary to a law in Judaism. This principle applies primarily
in areas of commercial, civil and criminal law.

In antiquity, the Sanhedrin functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature (in the US judicial
system) for Judaism, and had the power to administer binding law, including both received law and its
own rabbinic decrees, on all Jews—rulings of the Sanhedrin became halakha; see Oral law. That court
ceased to function in its full mode in 40 CE. Today, the authoritative application of Jewish law is left to
the local rabbi, and the local rabbinical courts, with only local applicability. In branches of Judaism that
follow halakha, lay individuals make numerous ad-hoc decisions, but are regarded as not having
authority to decide certain issues definitively.

Since the days of the Sanhedrin, however, no body or authority has been generally regarded as having
the authority to create universally recognized precedents. As a result, halakha has developed in a
somewhat different fashion from Anglo-American legal systems with a Supreme Court able to provide
universally accepted precedents. Generally, Halakhic arguments are effectively, yet unofficially, peer-
reviewed. When a rabbinic posek ("he who makes a statement", "decisor") proposes an additional
interpretation of a law, that interpretation may be considered binding for the posek's questioner or
immediate community. Depending on the stature of the posek and the quality of the decision, an
interpretation may also be gradually accepted by other rabbis and members of other Jewish
communities.
Under this system there is a tension between the relevance of earlier and later authorities in
constraining Halakhic interpretation and innovation. On the one hand, there is a principle in halakha not
to overrule a specific law from an earlier era, after it is accepted by the community as a law or vow,[11]
unless supported by another, relevant earlier precedent; see list below. On the other hand, another
principle recognizes the responsibility and authority of later authorities, and especially the posek
handling a then-current question. In addition, the halakha embodies a wide range of principles that
permit judicial discretion and deviation (Ben-Menahem).

Notwithstanding the potential for innovation, rabbis and Jewish communities differ greatly on how they
make changes in halakha. Notably, poskim frequently extend the application of a law to new situations,
but do not consider such applications as constituting a "change" in halakha. For example, many
Orthodox rulings concerning electricity are derived from rulings concerning fire, as closing an electrical
circuit may cause a spark. In contrast, Conservative poskim consider that switching on electrical
equipment is physically and chemically more like turning on a water tap (which is permissible by
halakha) than lighting a fire (which is not permissible), and therefore permitted on Shabbat. The
reformative Judaism in some cases explicitly interprets halakha to take into account its view of
contemporary society. For instance, most Conservative rabbis extend the application of certain Jewish
obligations and permissible activities to women (see below).

Within certain Jewish communities, formal organized bodies do exist. Within Modern Orthodox Judaism,
there is no one committee or leader, but Modern US-based Orthodox rabbis generally agree with the
views set by consensus by the leaders of the Rabbinical Council of America. Within Conservative
Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly has an official Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.[12]

Note that takkanot (plural of takkanah) in general do not affect or restrict observance of Torah mitzvot.
(Sometimes takkanah refers to either gezeirot or takkanot.) However, the Talmud states that in
exceptional cases, the Sages had the authority to "uproot matters from the Torah". In Talmudic and
classical Halakhic literature, this authority refers to the authority to prohibit some things that would
otherwise be Biblically sanctioned (shev v'al ta'aseh, "thou shall stay seated and not do"). Rabbis may
rule that a specific mitzvah from the Torah should not be performed, e. g., blowing the shofar on
Shabbat, or taking the lulav and etrog on Shabbat. These examples of takkanot which may be executed
out of caution lest some might otherwise carry the mentioned items between home and the synagogue,
thus inadvertently violating a Sabbath melakha. Another rare and limited form of takkanah involved
overriding Torah prohibitions. In some cases, the Sages allowed the temporary violation of a prohibition
in order to maintain the Jewish system as a whole. This was part of the basis for Esther's relationship
with Ahasuerus (Xeres). For general usage of takkanaot in Jewish history see the article Takkanah. For
examples of this being used in Conservative Judaism, see Conservative halakha.

Historical analysis

Rabbinical eras

 Chazal

o Zugot
 o Tannaim

o Amoraim

o Savoraim

 Geonim

 Rishonim

 Acharonim

 v

 t

 e

The antiquity of the rules can be determined only by the dates of the authorities who quote them; in
general, they cannot safely be declared older than the tanna ("repeater") to whom they are first
ascribed. It is certain, however, that the seven middot ("measurements", and referring to [good]
behavior) of Hillel and the thirteen of Ishmael are earlier than the time of Hillel himself, who was the
first to transmit them.

The Talmud gives no information concerning the origin of the middot, although the Geonim ("Sages")
regarded them as Sinaitic (Law given to Moses at Sinai). The Artscroll Series writes in its Overview to the
book of Ezra:[13]

"During the Mishnaitic and Talmudic periods, the Sages of Israel... took the eternal tools of exegesis and
used them to reveal the secrets that had always been locked within the words of the Torah, secrets that
Moses had taught Israel and that, in turn, had been transmitted orally for over a thousand years until
the oral tradition began to crumble due to persecution and a lack of diligence. They did nothing new and
certainly made no changes in the Torah; they merely made use of hermeneutic principles that had not
been need while the tradition of study was still at its zenith." (pg. xii-xiii)

The middot seem to have been first laid down as abstract rules by the teachers of Hillel, though they
were not immediately recognized by all as valid and binding. Different schools interpreted and modified
them, restricted or expanded them, in various ways. Rabbi Akiva and rabbi Ishmael and their scholars
especially contributed to the development or establishment of these rules. "It must be borne in mind,
however, that neither Hillel, Ishmael, nor [a contemporary of theirs named] Eliezer ben Jose sought to
give a complete enumeration of the rules of interpretation current in his day, but that they omitted
from their collections many rules which were then followed."[14]

Akiva devoted his attention particularly to the grammatical and exegetical rules, while Ishmael
developed the logical. The rules laid down by one school were frequently rejected by another because
the principles that guided them in their respective formulations were essentially different. According to
Akiva, the divine language of the Torah is distinguished from the speech of men by the fact that in the
former no word or sound is superfluous.
Some scholars have observed a similarity between these rabbinic rules of interpretation and the
hermeneutics of ancient Hellenistic culture. For example, Saul Lieberman argues that the names of rabbi
Ishmael's middot (e. g., kal vahomer, a combination of the archaic form of the word for "straw" and the
word for "clay" – "straw and clay", referring to the obvious [means of making a mud brick]) are Hebrew
translations of Greek terms, although the methods of those middot are not Greek in origin.[15][16][17]

Views today

The artistic freedom spirit of Aggadah (left, represented by Solomon) and the legal divine judgment
rulings of Halakhah (right, represented by Aaron and his sons) on the Knesset Menorah

See also: Talmud § Present day

Orthodox Judaism holds that halakha is the divine law as laid out in the Torah (five books of Moses),
rabbinical laws, rabbinical decrees, and customs combined. The rabbis, who made many additions and
interpretations of Jewish Law, did so only in accordance with regulations they believe were given for this
purpose to Moses on Mount Sinai, see Deuteronomy 17:11. See Orthodox Judaism, Beliefs about Jewish
law and tradition.[18]

Conservative Judaism holds that halakha is normative and binding, and is developed as a partnership
between people and God based on Sinaitic Torah. While there are a wide variety of Conservative views,
a common belief is that halakha is, and has always been, an evolving process subject to interpretation
by rabbis in every time period. See Conservative Judaism, Beliefs.

Reconstructionist Judaism holds that halakha is normative and binding, while also believing that it is an
evolving concept and that the traditional halakhic system is incapable of producing a code of conduct
that is meaningful for, and acceptable to, the vast majority of contemporary Jews. Reconstructionist
founder Mordecai Kaplan believed that "Jewish life [is] meaningless without Jewish law.", and one of the
planks of the Society for the Jewish Renascence, of which Kaplan was one of the founders, stated: "We
accept the halakha, which is rooted in the Talmud, as the norm of Jewish life, availing ourselves, at the
same time, of the method implicit therein to interpret and develop the body of Jewish Law in
accordance with the actual conditions and spiritual needs of modern life."[19]

Reform Judaism holds that modern views of how the Torah and rabbinic law developed imply that the
body of rabbinic Jewish law is no longer normative (seen as binding) on Jews today. Those in the
"traditionalist" wing believe that the halakha represents a personal starting-point, holding that each Jew
is obligated to interpret the Torah, Talmud and other Jewish works for themselves, and this
interpretation will create separate commandments for each person. Those in the liberal and classical
wings of Reform believe that in this day and era, most Jewish religious rituals are no longer necessary,
and many hold that following most Jewish laws is actually counter-productive. They propose that
Judaism has entered a phase of ethical monotheism, and that the laws of Judaism are only remnants of
an earlier stage of religious evolution, and need not be followed. This is considered wrong, and even
heretical, by Orthodox and Conservative Judaism.

Humanistic Jews value the Torah as a historical, political, and sociological text written by their ancestors.
They do not believe "that every word of the Torah is true, or even morally correct, just because the
Torah is old". The Torah is both disagreed with and questioned. Humanistic Jews believe that the entire
Jewish experience, and not only the Torah, should be studied as a source for Jewish behavior and ethical
values.[20]

Jews believe that gentiles are bound by a subset of halakha called the Seven Laws of Noah, also referred
to as the Noahide Laws. They are a set of imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by
God to the "children of Noah" – that is, all of humanity.[21]

Flexibility

Despite its internal rigidity, halakha has a degree of flexibility in finding solutions to modern problems
that are not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. From the very beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism, halakhic
inquiry allowed for a "sense of continuity between past and present, a self-evident trust that their
pattern of life and belief now conformed to the sacred patterns and beliefs presented by scripture and
tradition".[22] According to an analysis by Jewish scholar Jeffrey Rubenstein of Michael Berger's book
Rabbinic Authority, the authority that rabbis hold "derives not from the institutional or personal
authority of the sages but from a communal decision to recognize that authority, much as a community
recognizes a certain judicial system to resolve its disputes and interpret its laws."[23] Given this
covenental relationship, rabbis are charged with connecting their contemporary community with the
traditions and precedents of the past.

When presented with contemporary issues, rabbis go through a halakhic process to find an answer. The
classical approach has permitted new rulings regarding modern technology. For example, some of these
rulings guide Jewish observers about the proper use of electricity on the Sabbath and holidays. Often, as
to the applicability of the law in any given situation, the proviso is to "consult your local rabbi or posek".
This notion lends rabbis a certain degree of local authority; however, for more complex questions the
issue is passed onto higher rabbis who will then issue a teshuvot, which is a responsa that is binding.[24]
Indeed, rabbis will continuously issue different opinions and will constantly review each other's work so
as to maintain the truest sense of halakha. Overall, this process allows rabbis to maintain connection of
traditional Jewish law to modern life. Of course, the degree of flexibility depends on the sect of Judaism,
with Reform being the most flexible, Conservative somewhat in the middle, and Orthodox being much
more stringent and rigid. Modern critics, however, have charged that with the rise of movements that
challenge the "divine" authority of halakha, traditional Jews have greater reluctance to change, not only
the laws themselves but also other customs and habits, than traditional Rabbinical Judaism did prior to
the advent of Reform in the 19th century.

Denominational approaches

Orthodox Judaism

Hasidim walk to the synagogue, Rehovot, Israel.

Orthodox Jews believe that halakha is a religious system whose core represents the revealed will of
God. Although Orthodox Judaism acknowledges that rabbis have made many decisions and decrees
regarding Jewish Law where the written Torah itself is nonspecific, they did so only in accordance with
regulations received by Moses on Mount Sinai (see Deuteronomy 5:8–13). These regulations were
transmitted orally until shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple. They were then recorded in
the Mishnah, and explained in the Talmud and commentaries throughout history up until the present
day. Orthodox Judaism believes that subsequent interpretations have been derived with the utmost
accuracy and care. The most widely accepted codes of Jewish law are known as Mishneh Torah and the
Shulchan Aruch.[25]

Orthodox Judaism has a range of opinions on the circumstances and extent to which change is
permissible. Haredi Jews generally hold that even minhagim (customs) must be retained, and existing
precedents cannot be reconsidered. Modern Orthodox authorities are more inclined to permit limited
changes in customs and some reconsideration of precedent.[26]

Conservative Judaism

Further information: Conservative halakha

A mixed-gender, egalitarian Conservative service at Robinson's Arch, Western Wall

The view held by Conservative Judaism is that the Torah is not the word of God in a literal sense.
However, the Torah is still held as mankind's record of its understanding of God's revelation, and thus
still has divine authority. Therefore, halakha is still seen as binding. Conservative Jews use modern
methods of historical study to learn how Jewish law has changed over time, and are, in some cases,
willing to change Jewish law in the present.[27]

A key practical difference between Conservative and Orthodox approaches is that Conservative Judaism
holds that its rabbinical body's powers are not limited to reconsidering later precedents based on earlier
sources, but the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) is empowered to override Biblical and
Taanitic prohibitions by takkanah (decree) when perceived to be inconsistent with modern
requirements or views of ethics. The CJLS has used this power on a number of occasions, most famously
in the "driving teshuva", which says that if someone is unable to walk to any synagogue on the Sabbath,
and their commitment to observance is so loose that not attending synagogue may lead them to drop it
altogether, their rabbi may give them a dispensation to drive there and back; and more recently in its
decision prohibiting the taking of evidence on mamzer status on the grounds that implementing such a
status is immoral. The CJLS has also held that the Talmudic concept of Kavod HaBriyot permits lifting
rabbinic decrees (as distinct from carving narrow exceptions) on grounds of human dignity, and used
this principle in a December 2006 opinion lifting all rabbinic prohibitions on homosexual conduct (the
opinion held that only male-male anal sex was forbidden by the Bible and that this remained
prohibited). Conservative Judaism also made a number of changes to the role of women in Judaism
including counting women in a minyan,[28] permitting women to chant from the Torah,[29] and ordaining
women as rabbis.[30]

The Conservative approach to halachic interpretation can be seen in the CJLS's acceptance of Rabbi Elie
Kaplan Spitz's responsum decreeing the biblical category of mamzer as "inoperative."[31] The CJLS
adopted the responsum's view that the "morality which we learn through the larger, unfolding narrative
of our tradition" informs the application of Mosaic law.[31] The responsum cited several examples of how
the rabbinic sages declined to enforce punishments explicitly mandated by Torah law. The examples
include the trial of the accused adulteress (sotah), the "law of breaking the neck of the heifer," and the
application of the death penalty for the "rebellious child."[32] Kaplan Spitz argues that the punishment of
the mamzer has been effectively inoperative for nearly two thousand years due to deliberate rabbinic
inaction. Further he suggested that the rabbis have long regarded the punishment declared by the Torah
as immoral, and came to the conclusion that no court should agree to hear testimony on mamzerut.
Codes of Jewish law

The most important codifications of Jewish law include:

 The Mishnah, composed by rabbi Judah the Prince, in 200 CE, as a basic outline of the state of
the Oral Law in his time. This was the framework upon which the Talmud was based; the
Talmud's dialectic analysis of the content of the Mishna (gemara; completed c. 500) became the
basis for all later halakhic decisions and subsequent codes.

 Codifications by the Geonim of the halakhic material in the Talmud.

o An early work, She'iltot ("Questions") by Achai of Shabcha (c. 752), discusses over 190
mitzvot – exploring and addressing various questions on these.

o The first legal codex proper, Halakhot Pesukot ("Decided Laws"), by Yehudai Gaon
(c. 760), rearranges the Talmud passages in a structure manageable to the layman. (It
was written in vernacular Aramaic, and subsequently translated into Hebrew as Hilkhot
Riu).

o Halakhot Gedolot ("Great Law Book"), by R.Simeon Kayyara, published two generations
later, contains extensive additional material, mainly from Responsa and Monographs of
the Geonim, and is presented in a form that is closer to the original Talmud language
and structure. (Probably since it was distributed, also, amongst the newly established
Ashkenazi communities.) The She'iltot was influential on both subsequent works.

 The Hilchot HaRif, was written by the Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (1013–1103), it has summations of the
legal material found in the Talmud. Alfasi transcribed the Talmud's halakhic conclusions
verbatim, without the surrounding deliberation; he also excluded all aggadic (non-legal, and
homiletic) matter. The Hilchot soon superseded the geonic codes, as it contained all the
decisions and the laws then relevant, and additionally, served as an accessible Talmudic
commentary; it has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud.

 The Mishneh Torah by Maimonides (1135–1204). This work encompasses the full range of
Talmudic law; it is organized and reformulated in a logical system – in 14 books, 83 sections and
1000 chapters – with each halakha stated clearly. The Mishneh Torah is very influential to this
day, and several later works reproduce passages verbatim. It also includes a section on
Metaphysics and fundamental beliefs. (Some claim this section draws heavily on Aristotelian
science and metaphysics; others suggest that it is within the tradition of Saadia Gaon.) It is the
main source of practical halakha for many Yemenite Jews – mainly Baladi and Dor Daim – as well
as for a growing community referred to as talmidei haRambam.

 The work of the Rosh, rabbi Asher ben Jehiel (1250?/1259?–1328), an abstract of the Talmud,
concisely stating the final halakhic decision and quoting later authorities, notably Alfasi,
Maimonides, and the Tosafists. This work superseded rabbi Alfasi's and has been printed with
almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud.

 The Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (The "SeMaG") of rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (first half of the 13th
century, Coucy, northern France). "SeMaG" is organised around the 365 negative and the 248
positive commandments, separately discussing each of them according to the Talmud (in light of
 the commentaries of Rashi and the Tosafot) and the other codes existent at the time. Sefer
Mitzvot Katan ("SeMaK") by Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil is an abridgement of the SeMaG,
including additional practical halakha, as well as agaddic and ethical material.

 "The Mordechai" – by Mordecai ben Hillel (d. Nuremberg 1298) – serves both as a source of
analysis, as well of decided law. Mordechai considered about 350 halakhic authorities, and was
widely influential, particularly amongst the Ashkenazi and Italian communities. Although
organised around the Hilchot of the Rif, it is, in fact, an independent work. It has been printed
with every edition of the Talmud since 1482.

An illuminated manuscript of Arba'ah Turim from 1435

 The Arba'ah Turim (lit. "The Four Columns"; the Tur) by rabbi Jacob ben Asher (1270–1343,
Toledo, Spain). This work traces the halakha from the Torah text and the Talmud through the
Rishonim, with the Hilchot of Alfasi as its starting point. Ben Asher followed Maimonides's
precedent in arranging his work in a topical order, however, the Tur covers only those areas of
Jewish law that were in force in the author's time. The code is divided into four main sections;
almost all codes since this time have followed the Tur's arrangement of material.

o Orach Chayim ("The Way of Life"): worship and ritual observance in the home and
synagogue, through the course of the day, the weekly sabbath and the festival cycle.

o Yoreh De'ah ("Teach Knowledge"): assorted ritual prohibitions, dietary laws and
regulations concerning menstrual impurity.

o Even Ha'ezer ("The Rock of the Helpmate"): marriage, divorce and other issues in family
law.

o Choshen Mishpat ("The Breastplate of Judgement"): The administration and

adjudication of civil law.
 The Beit Yosef and the Shulchan Aruch of rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575). The Beit Yosef is a huge
commentary on the Tur in which rabbi Karo traces the development of each law from the
Talmud through later rabbinical literature (examining 32 authorities, beginning with the Talmud
and ending with the works of rabbi Israel Isserlein). The Shulchan Aruch (literally "set table") is,
in turn, a condensation of the Beit Yosef – stating each ruling simply; this work follows the
chapter divisions of the Tur. The Shulchan Aruch, together with its related commentaries, is
considered by many to be the most authoritative compilation of halakha since the Talmud. In
writing the Shulchan Aruch, rabbi Karo based his rulings on three authorities – Maimonides,
Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), and Isaac Alfasi (Rif); he considered the Mordechai in inconclusive
cases. Sephardic Jews, generally, refer to the Shulchan Aruch as the basis for their daily practice.

 The works of Rabbi Moshe Isserles ("Rema"; Kraków, Poland, 1525 to 1572). Isserles noted that
the Shulchan Aruch was based on the Sephardic tradition, and he created a series of glosses to
be appended to the text of the Shulkhan Aruch for cases where Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs
differed (based on the works of Yaakov Moelin, Israel Isserlein, and Israel Bruna). The glosses are
called ha-Mapah ("the Tablecloth"). His comments are now incorporated into the body of all
printed editions of the Shulchan Aruch, typeset in a different script; today, "Shulchan Aruch"
refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. Isserles' Darkhei Moshe is similarly a
commentary on the Tur and the Beit Yosef.

 The Levush Malkhut ("Levush") of Rabbi Mordecai Yoffe (c. 1530–1612). A ten-volume work, five
discussing halakha at a level "midway between the two extremes: the lengthy Beit Yosef of Karo
on the one hand, and on the other Karo's Shulchan Aruch together with the Mappah of Isserles,
which is too brief", that particularly stresses the customs and practices of the Jews of Eastern
Europe. The Levush was exceptional among the codes, in that it treated certain Halakhot from a
Kabbalistic standpoint.

 The Shulchan Aruch HaRav of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (c. 1800) was an attempt to re-codify
the law as it stood at that time – incorporating commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch, and
subsequent responsa – and thus stating the decided halakha, as well as the underlying
reasoning. The work was written partly so that laymen would be able to study Jewish law.
Unfortunately, most of the work was lost in a fire prior to publication. It is the basis of practice
for Chabad-Lubavitch and other Hasidic groups and is quoted as authoritative by many
subsequent works, Hasidic and non-Hasidic alike.

 Works structured directly on the Shulchan Aruch, providing analysis in light of Acharonic
material and codes:

o The Mishnah Berurah of rabbi Yisroel Meir ha-Kohen, (the "Chofetz Chaim", Poland,
1838–1933) is a commentary on the "Orach Chayim" section of the Shulchan Aruch,
discussing the application of each halakha in light of all subsequent Acharonic decisions.
It has become the authoritative halakhic guide for much of Orthodox Ashkenazic Jewry
in the postwar period.

o Aruch HaShulchan by rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829–1888) is a scholarly analysis of

halakha through the perspective of the major Rishonim. The work follows the structure
 of the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch; rules dealing with vows, agriculture, and ritual purity,
are discussed in a second work known as Aruch HaShulchan he'Atid.

o Kaf HaChaim on Orach Chayim and parts of Yoreh De'ah, by the Sephardi sage Yaakov
Chaim Sofer (Baghdad and Jerusalem, 1870–1939) is similar in scope, authority and
approach to the Mishnah Berurah. This work also surveys the views of many kabbalistic
sages (particularly Isaac Luria), when these impact the Halakha.

o Yalkut Yosef, by rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, is a voluminous, widely cited and contemporary
work of halakha, based on the rulings of rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

 Layman-oriented digests of halakha:

o The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried (Hungary 1804–1886), based on
the very strict Hungarian customs of the 19th century, became immensely popular after
its publication due to its simplicity. This work is not binding in the same way as the
Mishneh Torah or the Shulchan Aruch. It is still popular in Orthodox Judaism as a
framework for study, if not always for practice.

o Chayei Adam and Chochmat Adam by Avraham Danzig (Poland, 1748–1820) are
Ashkenazi works regarded as a more appropriate basis for practice.[citation needed]

o The Ben Ish Chai by Yosef Chaim (Baghdad, 1832–1909) is a collection of the laws on
everyday life interspersed with mystical insights and customs, addressed to the masses
and arranged by the weekly Torah portion. Its wide circulation has seen it become a
standard reference work in Sephardi Halakha.

o Peninei Halachah by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed (15 volumes thus far) covers a wide range
of subjects, from Shabbat to organ donations, and in addition to clearly posing the
practical law - reflecting the customs of various communities - also discusses the
spiritual foundations of the Halakhot. It is widely studied in the Religious Zionist
community.

o Tzurba M’Rabanan by Rabbi Benzion Algazi, six Hebrew volumes covering 300 topics[33]
from all areas of the Shulchan Aruch, "from the Talmudic source through modern-day
halachic application", similarly studied in the Religious Zionist community (and outside
Israel, through Mizrachi in numerous Modern Orthodox communities).

 Temimei Haderech ("A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice") by rabbi Isaac Klein with
contributions from the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly.
This scholarly work is based on the previous traditional law codes, but written from a
Conservative Jewish point of view, and not accepted among Orthodox Jews.
Midrash

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This article is about the Jewish mode of biblical interpretation and related rabbinical texts. For the
Islamic religious school, see Madrasah.

Title page, Midrash Tehillim

Midrash (/ˈmɪdrɑːʃ/;[1] Hebrew: ‫ ;מִדְרָשׁ‬pl. Hebrew: ‫ מִדְרָשִׁים‬midrashim) is biblical exegesis by ancient

Judaic authorities,[2] using a mode of interpretation prominent in the Talmud. The word itself means
"textual interpretation", "study".[3]

Midrash and rabbinic readings "discern value in texts, words, and letters, as potential revelatory
spaces," writes the Hebrew scholar Wilda C. Gafney. "They reimagine dominant narratival readings while
crafting new ones to stand alongside—not replace—former readings. Midrash also asks questions of the
text; sometimes it provides answers, sometimes it leaves the reader to answer the questions."[4]

Vanessa Lovelace defines midrash as "a Jewish mode of interpretation that not only engages the words
of the text, behind the text, and beyond the text, but also focuses on each letter, and the words left
unsaid by each line."[5]

The term is also used of a rabbinic work that interprets Scripture in that manner.[6][7] Such works contain
early interpretations and commentaries on the Written Torah and Oral Torah (spoken law and sermons),
as well as non-legalistic rabbinic literature (aggadah) and occasionally Jewish religious laws (halakha),
which usually form a running commentary on specific passages in the Hebrew Scripture (Tanakh).[8]

"Midrash", especially if capitalized, can refer to a specific compilation of these rabbinic writings
composed between 400 and 1200 CE.[1][9]

According to Gary Porton and Jacob Neusner, "midrash" has three technical meanings: 1) Judaic biblical
interpretation; 2) the method used in interpreting; 3) a collection of such interpretations.[10]

Contents

 1 Etymology

 2 As genre

 3 As method

 4 Jewish midrashic literature

o 4.1 Halakhic midrashim

o 4.2 Origins

o 4.3 Aggadic midrashim

 5 Classical compilations

o 5.1 Tannaitic

o 5.2 Post-Talmudic

o 5.3 Midrash Rabbah

 6 Contemporary Jewish midrash

 7 Contemporary views

 8 See also

 9 References

 10 External links

Etymology

The Hebrew word midrash is derived from the root of the verb darash (‫)דָּרַשׁ‬, which means "resort to,
seek, seek with care, enquire, require",[11] forms of which appear frequently in the Bible.[12]

The word midrash occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles 13:22 "in the midrash of the prophet
Iddo", and 24:27 "in the midrash of the book of the kings". KJV and ESV translate the word as "story" in
both instances; the Septuagint translates it as βιβλίον (book) in the first, as γραφή (writing) in the
second. The meaning of the Hebrew word in these contexts is uncertain: it has been interpreted as
referring to "a body of authoritative narratives, or interpretations thereof, concerning historically
important figures"[13] and seems to refer to a "book", perhaps even a "book of interpretation", which
might make its use a foreshadowing of the technical sense that the rabbis later gave to the word.[14]

Since the early Middle Ages the function of much of midrashic interpretation has been distinguished
from that of peshat, straight or direct interpretation aiming at the original literal meaning of a scriptural
text.[13]

As genre

A definition of "midrash" repeatedly quoted by other scholars[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] is that given by

Gary G. Porton in 1981: "a type of literature, oral or written, which stands in direct relationship to a
fixed, canonical text, considered to be the authoritative and revealed word of God by the midrashist and
his audience, and in which this canonical text is explicitly cited or clearly alluded to".[24]

Lieve M. Teugels, who would limit midrash to rabbinic literature, offered a definition of midrash as
"rabbinic interpretation of Scripture that bears the lemmatic form",[22] a definition that, unlike Porton's,
has not been adopted by others. While some scholars agree with the limitation of the term "midrash" to
rabbinic writings, others apply it also to certain Qumran writings,[25][26] to parts of the New
Testament,[27][28][29] and of the Hebrew Bible (in particular the superscriptions of the Psalms,
Deuteronomy, and Chronicles),[30] and even modern compositions are called midrashim.[31][32]

As method

Midrash is now viewed more as method than genre, although the rabbinic midrashim do constitute a
distinct literary genre.[33][34]

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Midrash was initially a philological method of interpreting
the literal meaning of biblical texts. In time it developed into a sophisticated interpretive system that
reconciled apparent biblical contradictions, established the scriptural basis of new laws, and enriched
biblical content with new meaning. Midrashic creativity reached its peak in the schools of Rabbi Ishmael
and Akiba, where two different hermeneutic methods were applied. The first was primarily logically
oriented, making inferences based upon similarity of content and analogy. The second rested largely
upon textual scrutiny, assuming that words and letters that seem superfluous teach something not
openly stated in the text."[35]

Many different exegetical methods are employed in an effort to derive deeper meaning from a text. This
is not limited to the traditional thirteen textual tools attributed to the Tanna Rabbi Ishmael, which are
used in the interpretation of halakha (Jewish law). The presence of words or letters which are seen to be
apparently superfluous, and the chronology of events, parallel narratives or what are seen as other
textual "anomalies" are often used as a springboard for interpretation of segments of Biblical text. In
many cases, a handful of lines in the Biblical narrative may become a long philosophical discussion

Jacob Neusner distinguishes three midrash processes:

1. paraphrase: recounting the content of the biblical text in different language that may change
the sense;
 2. prophecy: reading the text as an account of something happening or about to happen in the
interpreter's time;

3. parable or allegory: indicating deeper meanings of the words of the text as speaking of
something other than the superficial meaning of the words or of everyday reality, as when the
love of man and woman in the Song of Songs is interpreted as referring to the love between God
and Israel or the Church as in Isaiah 5:1-6 and in the New Testament.[36]

Jewish midrashic literature

Numerous Jewish midrashim previously preserved in manuscript form have been published in print,
including those denominated as smaller[37] or minor midrashim. Bernard H. Mehlman and Seth M.
Limmer deprecate this usage on the grounds that the term "minor" seems judgmental and "small" is
inappropriate for midrashim some of which are lengthy. They propose instead the term "medieval
midrashim", since the period of their production extended from the twilight of the rabbinic age to the
dawn of the Age of Enlightenment.[38]

Generally speaking, rabbinic midrashim either focus on religious law and practice (halakha) or interpret
biblical narrative in relation to non-legal ethics or theology, creating homilies and parables based on the
text. In the latter case they are described as aggadic.[39]

Halakhic midrashim

Midrash halakha is the name given to a group of tannaitic expositions on the first five books of the
Hebrew Bible.[40] These midrashim, written in Mishnahic Hebrew, clearly distinguish between the Biblical
texts that they discuss, and the rabbinic interpretation of that text. They often go well beyond simple
interpretation and derive or provide support for halakha. This work is based on pre-set assumptions
about the sacred and divine nature of the text, and the belief in the legitimacy that accords with rabbinic
interpretation.[41]

Although this material treats the biblical texts as the authoritative word of God, it is clear that not all of
the Hebrew Bible was fixed in its wording at this time, as some verses that are cited differ from the
Masoretic, and accord with the Septuagint, or Samaritan Torah instead.[42]

Origins

With the growing canonization of the contents of the Hebrew Bible, both in terms of the books that it
contained, and the version of the text in them, and an acceptance that new texts could not be added,
there came a need to produce material that would clearly differentiate between that text, and rabbinic
interpretation of it. By collecting and compiling these thoughts they could be presented in a manner
which helped to refute claims that they were only human interpretations. The argument being that by
presenting the various collections of different schools of thought each of which relied upon close study
of the text, the growing difference between early biblical law, and its later rabbinic interpretation could
be reconciled.[41]

Aggadic midrashim

Main article: Aggadah

Midrashim that seek to explain the non-legal portions of the Hebrew Bible are sometimes referred to as
aggadah or haggadah.[43]

Aggadic discussions of the non-legal parts of Scripture are characterized by a much greater freedom of
exposition than the halakhic midrashim (midrashim on Jewish law). Aggadic expositors availed
themselves of various techniques, including sayings of prominent rabbis. These aggadic explanations
could be philosophical or mystical disquisitions concerning angels, demons, paradise, hell, the messiah,
Satan, feasts and fasts, parables, legends, satirical assaults on those who practice idolatry, etc.

Some of these midrashim entail mystical teachings. The presentation is such that the midrash is a simple
lesson to the uninitiated, and a direct allusion, or analogy, to a mystical teaching for those educated in
this area.

An example of a midrashic interpretation:

"And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good. And there was evening, and there was
morning, the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31)—Midrash: Rabbi Nahman said in Rabbi Samuel's name: "Behold,
it was very good" refers to the Good Desire; "AND behold, it was very good" refers to the Evil Desire. Can
then the Evil Desire be very good? That would be extraordinary! But without the Evil Desire, however, no
man would build a house, take a wife and beget children; and thus said Solomon: "Again, I considered all
labour and all excelling in work, that it is a man's rivalry with his neighbour." (Kohelet IV, 4).[44]

Classical compilations

See also: Rabbinical literature

Tannaitic

 Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva. This book is a midrash on the names of the letters of the hebrew
alphabet.

 Mekhilta. The Mekhilta essentially functions as a commentary on the Book of Exodus. There are
two versions of this midrash collection. One is Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, the other is Mekhilta
de Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai. The former is still studied today, while the latter was used by many
medieval Jewish authorities. While the latter (bar Yohai) text was popularly circulated in
manuscript form from the 11th to 16th centuries, it was lost for all practical purposes until it
was rediscovered and printed in the 19th century.

o Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael. This is a halakhic commentary on Exodus, concentrating on

the legal sections, from Exodus 12 to 35. It derives halakha from Biblical verses. This
midrash collection was redacted into its final form around the 3rd or 4th century; its
contents indicate that its sources are some of the oldest midrashim, dating back
 possibly to the time of Rabbi Akiva. The midrash on Exodus that was known to the
Amoraim is not the same as our current mekhilta; their version was only the core of
what later grew into the present form.

o Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon. Based on the same core material as Mekhilta de Rabbi
Ishmael, it followed a second route of commentary and editing, and eventually emerged
as a distinct work. The Mekhilta de Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai is an exegetical midrash on
Exodus 3 to 35, and is very roughly dated to near the 4th century.

 Seder Olam Rabbah (or simply Seder Olam). Traditionally attributed to the Tannaitic Rabbi Yose
ben Halafta. This work covers topics from the creation of the universe to the construction of the
Second Temple in Jerusalem.

 Sifra on Leviticus. The Sifra work follows the tradition of Rabbi Akiva with additions from the
School of Rabbi Ishmael. References in the Talmud to the Sifra are ambiguous; It is uncertain
whether the texts mentioned in the Talmud are to an earlier version of our Sifra, or to the
sources that the Sifra also drew upon. References to the Sifra from the time of the early
medieval rabbis (and after) are to the text extant today. The core of this text developed in the
mid-3rd century as a critique and commentary of the Mishnah, although subsequent additions
and editing went on for some time afterwards.

 Sifre on Numbers and Deuteronomy, going back mainly to the schools of the same two Rabbis.
This work is mainly a halakhic midrash, yet includes a long haggadic piece in sections 78-106.
References in the Talmud, and in the later Geonic literature, indicate that the original core of
Sifre was on the Book of Numbers, Exodus and Deuteronomy. However, transmission of the text
was imperfect, and by the Middle Ages, only the commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy
remained. The core material was redacted around the middle of the 3rd century.

 Sifre Zutta (The small Sifre). This work is a halakhic commentary on the book of Numbers. The
text of this midrash is only partially preserved in medieval works, while other portions were
discovered by Solomon Schechter in his research in the famed Cairo Geniza. It seems to be older
than most other midrash, coming from the early 3rd century.

Post-Talmudic

 Midrash Qohelet, on Ecclesiastes (probably before middle of 9th century).

 Midrash Esther, on Esther (940 CE).

 The Pesikta, a compilation of homilies on special Pentateuchal and Prophetic lessons (early 8th
century), in two versions:

o Pesikta Rabbati

o Pesikta de-Rav Kahana

 Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer (not before 8th century), a midrashic narrative of the more important events
of the Pentateuch.
  Tanchuma or Yelammedenu (9th century) on the whole Pentateuch; its homilies often consist
of a halakhic introduction, followed by several poems, exposition of the opening verses, and the
Messianic conclusion. There are actually a number of different Midrash Tanhuma collections.
The two most important are Midrash Tanhuma Ha Nidpas, literally the published text. This is
also sometimes referred to as Midrash Tanhuma Yelamdenu. The other is based on a manuscript
published by Solomon Buber and is usually known as Midrash Tanhuma Buber, much to many
students' confusion, this too is sometimes referred to as Midrash Tanhuma Yelamdenu.
Although the first is the one most widely distributed today, when the medieval authors refer to
Midrash Tanchuma, they usually mean the second.

 Midrash Shmuel, on the first two Books of Kings (I, II Samuel).

 Midrash Tehillim, on the Psalms.

 Midrash Mishlé, a commentary on the book of Proverbs.

 Yalkut Shimoni. A collection of midrash on the entire Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh) containing
both halakhic and aggadic midrash. It was compiled by Shimon ha-Darshan in the 13th century
CE and is collected from over 50 other midrashic works.

 Midrash HaGadol (in English: the great midrash) (in Hebrew: ‫ )מדרש הגדול‬was written by Rabbi
David Adani of Yemen (14th century).It is a compilation of aggadic midrashim on the Pentateuch
taken from the two Talmuds and earlier Midrashim of Yemenite provenance.

 Tanna Devei Eliyahu. This work that stresses the reasons underlying the commandments, the
importance of knowing Torah, prayer, and repentance, and the ethical and religious values that
are learned through the Bible. It consists of two sections, Seder Eliyahu Rabbah and Seder
Eliyahu Zuta. It is not a compilation but a uniform work with a single author.

 Midrash Tadshe (also called Baraita de-Rabbi Pinehas ben Yair):

Midrash Rabbah

 Midrash Rabbah — widely studied are the Rabboth (great commentaries), a collection of ten
midrashim on different books of the Bible (namely, the five books of the Torah and the Five
Scrolls). Although referred to collectively as the Midrash Rabbah, they are not a cohesive work,
being written by different authors in different locales in different historical eras. The ones on
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are chiefly made up of homilies on the Scripture
sections for the Sabbath or festival, while the others are rather of an exegetical nature.

o Bereshith Rabba, Genesis Rabbah. This text dates from the sixth century. A midrash on
Genesis, it offers explanations of words and sentences and haggadic interpretations and
expositions, many of which are only loosely tied to the text. It is often interlaced with
maxims and parables. Its redactor drew upon earlier rabbinic sources, including the
Mishnah, Tosefta, the halakhic midrashim the Targums. It apparently drew upon a
version of Talmud Yerushalmi that resembles, yet was not identical to, the text that
survived to present times. It was redacted sometime in the early fifth century.

o Shemot Rabba, Exodus Rabbah (tenth or eleventh and twelfth century)

 o Vayyiqra Rabba, Leviticus Rabbah (middle seventh century)

o Bamidbar Rabba, Numbers Rabbah (twelfth century)

o Devarim Rabba, Deuteronomy Rabbah (tenth century)

o Shir Hashirim Rabba, Song of Songs Rabbah (probably before the middle of ninth
century)

o Ruth Rabba, (probably before the middle of ninth century)

o Eicha Rabba, Lamentations Rabbah (seventh century). Lamentations Rabbah has been
transmitted in two versions. One edition is represented by the first printed edition (at
Pesaro in 1519); the other is the Salomon Buber edition, based on manuscript J.I.4 from
the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome. This latter version (Buber's) is quoted by the
Shulkhan Arukh, as well as medieval Jewish authorities. It was probably redacted
sometime in the fifth century.

o Ecclesiastes Rabbah

o Esther Rabbah

Contemporary Jewish midrash

A wealth of literature and artwork has been created in the 20th and 21st centuries by people aspiring to
create "contemporary midrash". Forms include poetry, prose, Bibliodrama (the acting out of Bible
stories), murals, masks, and music, among others. The Institute for Contemporary Midrash was formed
to facilitate these reinterpretations of sacred texts. The institute hosted several week-long intensives
between 1995 and 2004, and published eight issues of Living Text: The Journal of Contemporary Midrash
from 1997 to 2000.

Contemporary views

According to Carol Bakhos, recent studies that use literary-critical tools to concentrate on the cultural
and literary aspects of midrash have led to a rediscovery of the importance of these texts for finding
insights into the rabbinic culture that created them. Midrash is increasingly seen as a literary and
cultural construction, responsive to literary means of analysis.[45]

Reverend Wilda C. Gafney has coined and expanded on womanist midrash, a particular practice and
method that Gafney defines as:

"[...] A set of interpretive practices, including translation, exegesis, and biblical narratives, that attends
to marginalized characters in biblical narratives, specially women and girls, intentionally including and
centering on non-Israelite peoples and enslaved persons. Womanist midrash listens to and for their
voices in and through the Hebrew Bible, while acknowledging that often the text does not speak, or
even intend to speak, to or for them, let alone hear them. In the tradition of rabbinic midrash and
contemporary feminist biblical scholarship, womanist midrash offers names for anonymized characters
and crafts/listens to/gives voice to those characters."[46]

Gafney's analysis also draws parallels between midrash as a Jewish exegetical practice and African
American Christian practices of biblical interpretation, wherein both practices privilege "sacred
imaginative interrogation," or "sanctified imagination" as it is referred to in the black preaching
tradition, when exegeting and interpreting the text. "Like classical and contemporary Jewish midrash,
the sacred imagination [as practiced in black preaching traditions] tells us the story behind the story, the
story between the lines on the page," Gafney writes.[47][5]

Frank Kermode has written that midrash is an imaginative way of "updating, enhancing, augmenting,
explaining, and justifying the sacred text". Because the Tanakh came to be seen as unintelligible or even
offensive, midrash could be used as a means of rewriting it in a way that both makes it more acceptable
to later ethical standards and renders it less obviously implausible.[48]

James L. Kugel, in The Bible as It Was (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997),
examines a number of early Jewish and Christian texts that comment on, expand, or re-interpret
passages from the first five books of the Tanakh between the third century BCE and the second century
CE.

Kugel traces how and why biblical interpreters produced new meanings by the use of exegesis on
ambiguities, syntactical details, unusual or awkward vocabulary, repetitions, etc. in the text. As an
example, Kugel examines the different ways in which the biblical story that God's instructions are not to
be found in heaven (Deut 30:12) has been interpreted. Baruch 3:29-4:1 states that this means that
divine wisdom is not available anywhere other than in the Torah. Targum Neophyti (Deut 30:12) and b.
Baba Metzia 59b claim that this text means that Torah is no longer hidden away, but has been given to
humans who are then responsible for following it.[49]
Jewish holidays

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Jewish holiday)

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For the Gregorian dates of Jewish holidays, see Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050.

Candles are lit on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath ("Shabbat") and on Jewish holidays.

Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or Yamim Tovim (Hebrew: ‫ימים טובים‬, lit. 'Good Days', or
singular ‫ יום טוב‬Yom Tov, in transliterated Hebrew [English: /ˈjɔːm ˈtɔːv, joʊm ˈtoʊv/]),[1] are holidays
observed in Judaism and by Jews[Note 1] throughout the Hebrew calendar. They include religious, cultural
and national elements, derived from three sources: biblical mitzvot ("commandments"); rabbinic
mandates; Jewish history and the history of the State of Israel.

Jewish holidays occur on the same dates every year in the Hebrew calendar, but the dates vary in the
Gregorian. This is because the Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar (based on the cycles of both the
sun and moon), whereas the Gregorian is a solar calendar.

Contents

 1 General concepts

o 1.1 Groupings

o 1.2 Terminology used to describe holidays

o 1.3 "Work" on Sabbath and biblical holidays

o 1.4 Second day of biblical festivals

 2 Holidays of biblical and rabbinic (Talmudic) origin

o 2.1 Shabbat—The Sabbath

o 2.2 Rosh Chodesh—The New Month

o 2.3 Rosh Hashanah—The Jewish New Year

 2.3.1 Selichot

 2.3.2 Rosh Hashanah

 2.3.3 Four New Years

 2.3.4 Aseret Yemei Teshuva—Ten Days of Repentance

o 2.4 Tzom Gedalia—Fast of Gedalia

o 2.5 Yom Kippur—Day of Atonement

o 2.6 Sukkot—Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles)

o 2.7 Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

o 2.8 Hanukkah—Festival of Lights

o 2.9 Tenth of Tevet

o 2.10 Tu Bishvat—New Year of the Trees

o 2.11 Purim—Festival of Lots

 2.11.1 Purim Katan

 2.11.2 Ta'anit Esther–Fast of Esther

 2.11.3 Purim and Shushan Purim

o 2.12 Pesach—Passover

 2.12.1 Month of Nisan

 2.12.2 Eve of Passover and Fast of the Firstborn

 2.12.3 Passover

 2.12.4 Pesach Sheni

o 2.13 Sefirah—Counting of the Omer

 2.13.1 Lag Ba'Omer

o 2.14 Shavuot—Feast of Weeks—Yom HaBikurim

o 2.15 Mourning for Jerusalem: Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av

 2.15.1 Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz

 2.15.2 The Three Weeks and the Nine Days

 2.15.3 Tisha B'Av—Ninth of Av

 o 2.16 Tu B'Av

o 2.17 Other fasts

 3 Israeli/Jewish national holidays and days of remembrance

o 3.1 Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day

o 3.2 Yom Hazikaron—Memorial Day

o 3.3 Yom Ha'atzmaut—Israel Independence Day

o 3.4 Yom Yerushalayim—Jerusalem Day

o 3.5 Yom HaAliyah—Aliyah Day

o 3.6 Day to commemorate the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands and Iran

o 3.7 Ethnic holidays

 4 See also

 5 Notes

 6 References

 7 Further reading

 8 External links

General concepts

Groupings

Certain terms are used very commonly for groups of holidays.

 The Hebrew-language term Yom Tov (‫)יום טוב‬, sometimes referred to as "festival day," usually
refers to the six biblically-mandated festival dates on which all activities prohibited on Shabbat
are prohibited, except for some related to food preparation.[2] These include the first and
seventh days of Passover, [first day of] Shavuot, both days of Rosh Hashanah, first day of Sukkot,
and [first day of] Shemini Atzeret. By extension, outside the Land of Israel, the second-day
holidays known under the rubric Yom tov sheni shel galuyot (literally, "Second Yom Tov of the
Diaspora")—including Simchat Torah—are also included in this grouping. Colloquially, Yom
Kippur, a biblically-mandated date on which even food preparation is prohibited, is often
included in this grouping. The tradition of keeping two days of Yom Tov in the diaspora has
existed since roughly 300 BCE.

 The English-language term High Holy Days (or High Holidays) refers to Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur collectively. Its Hebrew analogue, Yamim Nora'im (‫)ימים נוראים‬, "Days of Awe”, is more
flexible: it can refer just to those holidays, or to the Ten Days of Repentance, or to the entire
penitential period, starting as early as the beginning of Elul, and (more rarely) ending as late as
Shemini Atzeret.
  The term Three Pilgrimage Festivals (‫שלוש רגלים‬, shalosh regalim) refers to Passover, Shavuot
and Sukkot. Within this grouping Sukkot normally includes Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Terminology used to describe holidays

Certain terminology is used in referring to different categories of holidays, depending on their source
and their nature:

Shabbat (‫( )שבת‬Ashkenazi pron. from Yiddish shabbos), or Sabbath, is referred to by that name
exclusively. Similarly, Rosh Chodesh (‫ )ראש חודש‬is referred to by that name exclusively.

 Yom tov (‫( )יום טוב‬Ashkenazi pron. from Yid. yontif) (lit., "good day"): See "Groupings" above.

 Moed (‫"( )מועד‬festive season"), plural moadim (‫)מועדים‬, refers to any of the Three Pilgrimage
Festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. When used in comparison to Yom Tov, it refers to
Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot.

 Ḥag or chag (‫"( )חג‬festival"), plural chagim (‫)חגים‬, can be used whenever yom tov or moed is. It is
also used to describe Hanukkah and Purim, as well as Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence
Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day).

 Ta'anit (‫)תענית‬, or, less commonly, tzom (‫)צום‬, refers to a fast. These terms are generally used to
describe the rabbinic fasts, although tzom is used liturgically to refer to Yom Kippur as well.[3]

"Work" on Sabbath and biblical holidays

Main article: Melacha

The most notable common feature of Shabbat and the biblical festivals is the requirement to refrain
from melacha on these days.[Note 2] Melacha is most commonly translated as "work"; perhaps a better
translation is "creative-constructive work". Strictly speaking, Melacha is defined in Jewish law (halacha)
by 39 categories of labor that were used in constructing the Tabernacle while the Jews wandered in the
desert. As understood traditionally and in Orthodox Judaism:

 On Shabbat and Yom Kippur all melacha is prohibited.

 On a Yom Tov (other than Yom Kippur) which falls on a weekday, not Shabbat, most melacha is
prohibited. Some melacha related to preparation of food is permitted.[Note 3][Note 4]

 On weekdays during Chol HaMoed, melacha is not prohibited per se. However, melacha should
be limited to that required either to enhance the enjoyment of the remainder of the festival or
to avoid great financial loss.

 On other days, there are no restrictions on melacha.[Note 5]

In principle, Conservative Judaism understands the requirement to refrain from melacha in the same
way as Orthodox Judaism. In practice, Conservative rabbis frequently rule on prohibitions around
melacha differently from Orthodox authorities.[6] Still, there are a number of Conservative/Masorti
communities around the world where Sabbath and Festival observance fairly closely resembles
Orthodox observance.[Note 6]
However, many, if not most, lay members of Conservative congregations in North America do not
consider themselves Sabbath-observant, even by Conservative standards.[7] At the same time, adherents
of Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism do not accept halacha, and therefore restrictions on
melacha, as binding at all.[Note 7] Jews fitting any of these descriptions refrain from melacha in practice
only as they personally see fit.

Shabbat and holiday work restrictions are always put aside in cases of pikuach nefesh, which is saving a
human life. At the most fundamental level, if there is any possibility whatsoever that action must be
taken to save a life, Shabbat restrictions are set aside immediately, and without reservation.[Note 8] Where
the danger to life is present but less immediate, there is some preference to minimize violation of
Shabbat work restrictions where possible. The laws in this area are complex.[8]

Second day of biblical festivals

Main article: Yom tov sheni shel galuyot

The Torah specifies a single date on the Jewish calendar for observance of holidays. Nevertheless,
festivals of biblical origin other than Shabbat and Yom Kippur are observed for two days outside the land
of Israel, and Rosh Hashanah is observed for two days even inside the land of Israel.

Dates for holidays on the Jewish calendar are expressed in the Torah as "day x of month y." Accordingly,
the beginning of month y needs to be determined before the proper date of the holiday on day x can be
fixed. Months in the Jewish calendar are lunar, and originally were thought to have been proclaimed by
the blowing of a shofar.[9] Later, the Sanhedrin received testimony of witnesses saying they saw the new
crescent moon.[Note 9] Then the Sanhedrin would inform Jewish communities away from its meeting place
that it had proclaimed a new moon. The practice of observing a second festival day stemmed from
delays in disseminating that information.[10]

 Rosh Hashanah. Because of holiday restrictions on travel, messengers could not even leave the
seat of the Sanhedrin until the holiday was over. Inherently, there was no possible way for
anyone living away from the seat of the Sanhedrin to receive news of the proclamation of the
new month until messengers arrived after the fact. Accordingly, the practice emerged that Rosh
Hashanah was observed on both possible days, as calculated from the previous month's start,
everywhere in the world.[11][Note 10]

 Three Pilgrimage Festivals. Sukkot and Passover fall on the 15th day of their respective months.
This gave messengers two weeks to inform communities about the proclamation of the new
month. Normally, they would reach most communities within the land of Israel within that time,
but they might fail to reach communities farther away (such as those in Babylonia or overseas).
Consequently, the practice developed that these holidays be observed for one day within Israel,
but for two days (both possible days as calculated from the previous month's start) outside
Israel. This practice is known as yom tov sheni shel galuyot, "second day of festivals in exile
communities".[12]

For Shavuot, calculated as the fiftieth day from Passover, the above issue did not pertain directly, as the
"correct" date for Passover would be known by then. Nevertheless, the Talmud applies the same rule to
Shavuot, and to the Seventh Day of Passover and Shemini Atzeret, for consistency.[13]
Yom Kippur is not observed for two days anywhere because of the difficulty of maintaining a fast over
two days.[Note 11]

Shabbat is not observed based on a calendar date, but simply at intervals of seven days. Accordingly,
there is never a doubt of the date of Shabbat, and it need never be observed for two days.[Note 12]

Adherents of Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism generally do not observe the second day of
festivals,[14] although some do observe two days of Rosh Hashanah.[15]

Holidays of biblical and rabbinic (Talmudic) origin

Theories concerning possible non-Jewish sources for biblical holidays are beyond the scope of this
article. Please see individual holiday articles, particularly Shabbat (History).

Shabbat—The Sabbath

Shabbat candles and kiddush cup

Main article: Shabbat

Jewish law (halacha) accords Shabbat (‫ )שבת‬the status of a holiday, a day of rest celebrated on the
seventh day of each week. Jewish law defines a day as ending at either sundown or nightfall, when the
next day then begins. Thus,

 Shabbat begins just before sundown Friday night. Its start is marked by the lighting of Shabbat
candles and the recitation of Kiddush over a cup of wine.

 Shabbat ends at nightfall Saturday night. Its conclusion is marked by the prayer known as
Havdalah.

The fundamental rituals and observances of Shabbat include:

 Reading of the Weekly Torah portion

 Abbreviation of the Amidah in the three regular daily services to eliminate requests for everyday
needs

 Addition of a musaf service to the daily prayer services

 Enjoyment of three meals, often elaborate or ritualized, through the course of the day
  Restraint from performing melacha (see above).

In many ways, halakha (Jewish law) sees Shabbat as the most important holy day in the Jewish calendar.

 It is the first holiday mentioned in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and God was the first one to
observe it (Genesis).

 The Torah reading on Shabbat has more sections of parshiot (Torah readings) than on Yom
Kippur or any other Jewish holiday.

 The prescribed penalty in the Torah for a transgression of Shabbat prohibitions is death by
stoning (Exodus 31), while for other holidays the penalty is (relatively) less severe.

 Observance of Shabbat is the benchmark used in halacha to determine whether an individual is

a religiously observant, religiously reliable member of the community.

Rosh Chodesh—The New Month

Main article: Rosh Chodesh

Rosh Chodesh (‫( )ראש חודש‬lit., "head of the month") is a minor holiday or observance occurring on the
first day of each month of the Jewish calendar, as well as the last day of the preceding month if it has
thirty days.

 Rosh Chodesh observance during at least a portion of the period of the prophets could be fairly
elaborate.[16]

 Over time there have been varying levels of observance of a custom that women are excused
from certain types of work.[17]

 Fasting is normally prohibited on Rosh Chodesh.

Beyond the preceding, current observance is limited to changes in liturgy.

In the month of Tishrei, this observance is superseded by the observance of Rosh Hashanah, a major
holiday.

Related observances:

 The date of the forthcoming Rosh Chodesh is announced in synagogue on the preceding
Sabbath.

 There are special prayers said upon observing the waxing moon for the first time each month.

Rosh Hashanah—The Jewish New Year

Selichot

The month of Elul that precedes Rosh Hashanah is considered to be a propitious time for repentance.[18]
For this reason, additional penitential prayers called Selichot are added to the daily prayers, except on
Shabbat. Sephardi Jews add these prayers each weekday during Elul. Ashkenazi Jews recite them from
the last Sunday (or Saturday night) preceding Rosh Hashanah that allows at least four days of
recitations.
Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashana symbols: shofar, apples and honey, pomegranates, kiddush wine

Main article: Rosh Hashanah

 Erev Rosh Hashanah (eve of the first day): 29 Elul

 Rosh Hashanah: 1–2 Tishrei

According to oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah (‫( )ראש השנה‬lit., "Head of the Year") is the Day of Memorial or
Remembrance (‫יום הזכרון‬, Yom HaZikaron),[19] and the day of judgment (‫יום הדין‬, Yom HaDin).[20] God
appears in the role of King, remembering and judging each person individually according to his/her
deeds, and making a decree for each person for the following year.[21]

The holiday is characterized by one specific mitzvah: blowing the shofar.[22] According to the Torah, this
is the first day of the seventh month of the calendar year,[22] and marks the beginning of a ten-day
period leading up to Yom Kippur. According to one of two Talmudic opinions, the creation of the world
was completed on Rosh Hashanah.[23]

Morning prayer services are lengthy on Rosh Hashanah, and focus on the themes described above:
majesty and judgment, remembrance, the birth of the world, and the blowing of the shofar. Ashkenazi
Jews recite the brief Tashlikh prayer, a symbolic casting off of the previous year's sins, during the
afternoon of Rosh Hashanah.

The Bible specifies Rosh Hashanah as a one-day holiday,[22] but it is traditionally celebrated for two days,
even within the Land of Israel. (See Second day of biblical festivals, above.)

Four New Years

The Torah itself does not use any term like "new year" in reference to Rosh Hashanah. The Mishnah in
Rosh Hashanah[24] specifies four different "New Year's Days" for different purposes:
  1 Tishrei (conventional "Rosh Hashanah"): "new year" for calculating calendar years, sabbatical-
year (shmita) and jubilee cycles, and the age of trees for purposes of Jewish law; and for
separating grain tithes.

 15 Shevat (Tu Bishvat): "new year" for trees–i.e., their current agricultural cycle and related
tithes.

 1 Nisan: "new year" for counting months and major festivals and for calculating the years of the
reign of a Jewish king

o In biblical times, the day following 29 Adar, Year 1 of the reign of ___, would be
followed by 1 Nisan, Year 2 of the reign of ___.

o In modern times, although the Jewish calendar year number changes on Rosh
Hashanah, the months are still numbered from Nisan.

o The three pilgrimage festivals are always reckoned as coming in the order Passover-
Shavuot-Sukkot. This can have religious law consequences even in modern times.

 1 Elul (Rosh Hashanah LaBehema): "new year" for animal tithes.

Aseret Yemei Teshuva—Ten Days of Repentance

Main article: Ten Days of Repentance

The first ten days of Tishrei (from the beginning of Rosh Hashana until the end of Yom Kippur) are
known as the Ten Days of Repentance (‫עשרת ימי תשובה‬, Aseret Yemei Teshuva). During this time, in
anticipation of Yom Kippur, it is "exceedingly appropriate"[25] for Jews to practice teshuvah (literally
"return"), an examination of one's deeds and repentance for sins one has committed against other
people and God. This repentance can take the form of additional supplications, confessing one's deeds
before God, fasting, self-reflection, and an increase of involvement with, or donations to, charity.

Tzom Gedalia—Fast of Gedalia

Main article: Fast of Gedalia

 Tzom Gedalia: 3 Tishrei

The Fast of Gedalia (‫ )צום גדליה‬is a minor Jewish fast day. It commemorates the assassination of the
governor of Judah, Gedalia, which ended any level of Jewish rule following the destruction of the First
Temple.

The assassination apparently occurred on Rosh Hashanah (1 Tishrei),[26] but the fast is postponed to 3
Tishrei in respect for the holiday. It is further postponed to 4 Tishrei if 3 Tishrei is Shabbat.

As on all minor fast days, fasting from dawn to dusk is required, but other laws of mourning are not
normally observed. A Torah reading is included in both the Shacharit and Mincha prayers, and a
Haftarah is also included at Mincha. There are also a number of additions to the liturgy of both
services.[27]

Yom Kippur—Day of Atonement

Main article: Yom Kippur

A man in a tallit blows the shofar

 Erev Yom Kippur: 9 Tishrei

 Yom Kippur: 10 Tishrei (begins at sunset)

Yom Kippur (‫ )יום כיפור‬is the holiest day of the year for Jews.[Note 13] Its central theme is atonement and
reconciliation. This is accomplished through prayer and complete fasting—including abstinence from all
food and drink (including water)—by all healthy adults.[Note 14] Bathing, wearing of perfume or cologne,
wearing of leather shoes, and sexual relations are some of the other prohibitions on Yom Kippur—all
them designed to ensure one's attention is completely and absolutely focused on the quest for
atonement with God. Yom Kippur is also unique among holidays as having work-related restrictions
identical to those of Shabbat. The fast and other prohibitions commence on 10 Tishrei at sunset—sunset
being the beginning of the day in Jewish tradition.

A traditional prayer in Aramaic called Kol Nidre ("All Vows") is traditionally recited just before sunset.
Although often regarded as the start of the Yom Kippur evening service—to such a degree that Erev Yom
Kippur ("Yom Kippur Evening") is often called "Kol Nidre" (also spelled "Kol Nidrei")—it is technically a
separate tradition. This is especially so because, being recited before sunset, it is actually recited on 9
Tishrei, which is the day before Yom Kippur; it is not recited on Yom Kippur itself (on 10 Tishrei, which
begins after the sun sets).

The words of Kol Nidre differ slightly between Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions. In both, the
supplicant prays to be released from all personal vows made to God during the year, so that any
unfulfilled promises made to God will be annulled and, thus, forgiven. In Ashkenazi tradition, the
reference is to the coming year; in Sephardic tradition, the reference is to the year just ended. Only
vows between the supplicant and God are relevant. Vows made between the supplicant and other
people remain perfectly valid, since they are unaffected by the prayer.
A Tallit (four-cornered prayer shawl) is donned for evening and afternoon prayers–the only day of the
year in which this is done. In traditional Ashkenazi communities, men wear the kittel throughout the
day's prayers. The prayers on Yom Kippur evening are lengthier than on any other night of the year.
Once services reconvene in the morning, the services (in all traditions) are the longest of the year. In
some traditional synagogues prayers run continuously from morning until nightfall, or nearly so. Two
highlights of the morning prayers in traditional synagogues are the recitation of Yizkor, the prayer of
remembrance, and of liturgical poems (piyyutim) describing the temple service of Yom Kippur.

Two other highlights happen late in the day. During the Minchah prayer, the haftarah reading features
the entire Book of Jonah. Finally, the day concludes with Ne'ilah, a special service recited only on the
day of Yom Kippur. Ne'ilah deals with the closing of the holiday, and contains a fervent final plea to God
for forgiveness just before the conclusion of the fast. Yom Kippur comes to an end with the blowing of
the shofar, which marks the conclusion of the fast. It is always observed as a one-day holiday, both
inside and outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel.

Yom Kippur is considered, along with 15th of Av, as the happiest days of the year (Talmud Bavli—
Tractate Ta'anit).[28]

Sukkot—Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles)

A sukkah booth

Main article: Sukkot

 Erev Sukkot: 14 Tishrei

 Sukkot: 15–21 Tishrei (22 outside Israel)

 The first day of Sukkot is (outside Israel, first two days are) full yom tov, while the remainder of
Sukkot has the status of Chol Hamoed, "intermediate days".

Sukkot (‫ סוכות‬or ‫סֻכּוֹת‬, sukkōt) or Succoth is a seven-day festival, also known as the Feast of Booths, the
Feast of Tabernacles, or just Tabernacles. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (shalosh regalim)
mentioned in the Bible. Sukkot commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way
to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God protected them under difficult desert
conditions. The word sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth. Jews are
commanded to "dwell" in booths during the holiday.[29] This generally means taking meals, but some
sleep in the sukkah as well, particularly in Israel. There are specific rules for constructing a sukkah.

Along with dwelling in a sukkah, the principal ritual unique to this holiday is use of the Four Species:
lulav (palm), hadass (myrtle), aravah (willow) and etrog (citron).[30] On each day of the holiday other
than Shabbat, these are waved in association with the recitation of Hallel in the synagogue, then walked
in a procession around the synagogue called the Hoshanot.

The seventh day of the Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah, the "Great Hoshanah" (singular of Hoshanot
and the source of the English word hosanna). The climax of the day's prayers includes seven processions
of Hoshanot around the synagogue. This tradition mimics practices from the Temple in Jerusalem. Many
aspects of the day's customs also resemble those of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Hoshanah Rabbah
is traditionally taken to be the day of the "delivery" of the final judgment of Yom Kippur, and offers a
last opportunity for pleas of repentance before the holiday season closes.

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

Main articles: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

Dancing with the Torah

 Shemini Atzeret: 22 Tishrei (combined with Simchat Torah in Israel)

 Simchat Torah outside Israel: 23 Tishrei

The holiday of Shemini Atzeret (‫ )שמיני עצרת‬immediately follows the conclusion of the holiday of Sukkot.
The Hebrew word shemini means "eighth”, and refers to its position on "the eighth day" of Sukkot,
actually a seven-day holiday. This name reflects the fact that while in many respects Shemini Atzeret is a
separate holiday in its own right, in certain respects its celebration is linked to that of Sukkot. Outside
Israel, meals are still taken in the Sukkah on this day.

The main notable custom of this holiday is the celebration of Simchat Torah (‫)שמחת תורה‬, meaning
"rejoicing with the Torah". This name originally referred to a special "ceremony": the last weekly Torah
portion is read from Deuteronomy, completing the annual cycle, and is followed immediately by the
reading of the first chapter of Genesis, beginning the new annual cycle. Services are especially joyous,
and all attendees, young and old, are involved.
This ceremony so dominates the holiday that in Israel, where the holiday is one day long, the whole
holiday is often referred to as Simchat Torah. Outside Israel, the holiday is two days long; the name
Shemini Atzeret is used for the first day, while the second is normally called Simchat Torah.

Hanukkah—Festival of Lights

Main article: Hanukkah

Hanukkiah

 Erev Hanukkah: 24 Kislev

 Hanukkah: 25 Kislev–2 or 3 Tevet

The story of Hanukkah (‫ )חנוכה‬is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees. These books
are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), they are apocryphal books instead. The miracle of the one-
day supply of olive oil miraculously lasting eight days is first described in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b),
written about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees.[31]

Hanukkah marks the defeat of Seleucid Empire forces that had tried to prevent the people of Israel from
practicing Judaism. Judah Maccabee and his brothers destroyed overwhelming forces, and rededicated
the Temple in Jerusalem. The eight-day festival is marked by the kindling of lights—one on the first
night, two on the second, and so on—using a special candle holder called a Hanukkiah, or a Hanukkah
menorah.

Religiously, Hanukkah is a minor holiday. Except on Shabbat, restrictions on work do not apply.[Note 15]
Aside from the kindling of lights, formal religious observance is restricted to changes in liturgy.
Hanukkah celebration tends to be informal and based on custom rather than law. Three widely
practiced customs include:

 Consumption of foods prepared in oil, such as potato pancakes or sufganiyot, commemorating

the miracle of oil

 Playing the game of dreidel (called a sevivon in Hebrew), symbolizing Jews' disguising of illegal
Torah study sessions as gambling meetings during the period leading to the Maccabees'
revolt[Note 16]

 Giving children money, especially coins, called Hanukkah gelt. However, the custom of giving
presents is of far more recent, North American, origin, and is connected to the gift economy
prevalent around North American Christmas celebrations.[Note 17]
Tenth of Tevet

Main article: Tenth of Tevet

 Asarah B'Tevet: 10 Tevet

The Tenth of Tevet (‫עשרה בטבת‬, Asarah B'Tevet) is a minor fast day, marking the beginning of the siege of
Jerusalem as outlined in 2 Kings 25:1

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it;
and they built forts against it round about.

This fast's commemoration also includes other events occurring on 8, 9 and 10 Tevet.

This fast is observed like other minor fasts (see Tzom Gedalia, above). This is the only minor fast that can
fall on a Friday under the current fixed Jewish calendar.

Tu Bishvat—New Year of the Trees

Main article: Tu Bishvat

Nuts and dried fruits, traditionally eaten on Tu Bishvat

 Tu Bishvat: 15 Shevat

Tu Bishvat (‫( )ט"ו בשבט‬lit., "fifteenth of Shevat”, as ‫ ט״ו‬is the number "15" in Hebrew letters), is the new
year for trees. It is also known as ‫( חג האילנות‬Ḥag ha-Ilanot, Festival of Trees), or ‫( ראש השנה לאילנות‬Rosh
ha-Shanah la-Ilanot, New Year for Trees). According to the Mishnah, it marks the day from which fruit
tithes are counted each year. Starting on this date, the biblical prohibition on eating the first three years
of fruit (orlah) and the requirement to bring the fourth year fruit (neta revai) to the Temple in Jerusalem
were counted.[32]

During the 17th century, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his disciples created a short seder, called
Hemdat ha-Yamim, reminiscent of the seder that Jews observe on Passover, that explores the holiday's
Kabbalistic themes. This Tu Bishvat seder has witnessed a revival in recent years. More generally, Tu
Bishvat is celebrated in modern times by eating various fruits and nuts associated with the Land of
Israel.
Traditionally, trees are planted on this day.[33] Many children collect funds leading up to this day to plant
trees in Israel. Trees are usually planted locally as well.

Purim—Festival of Lots

Main article: Purim

 Fast of Esther: normally 13 Adar

 Purim: 14 Adar

 Shushan Purim: 15 Adar

 In leap years on the Hebrew calendar, the above dates are observed in the Second Adar (Adar
Sheni). The 14th and 15th of First Adar (Adar Rishon) are known as Purim Katan

Purim Katan

Purim Katan (‫( )פורים קטן‬lit., "small Purim") is observed on the 14th and 15th of First Adar in leap years.
These days are marked by a small increase in festivity, including a prohibition on fasting, and slight
changes in the liturgy.

Ta'anit Esther–Fast of Esther

Main article: Fast of Esther

The opening chapter of a hand-written scroll of the Book of Esther, with reader's pointer

Mishloah manot

Ta'anit Esther (‫)תענית אסתר‬, or "Fast of Esther", is named in honor of the fast of Esther and her court as
Esther prepared to approach the king unbidden to invite him and Haman to a banquet.[34] It
commemorates that fast, as well as one alluded to later in the Book of Esther,[35] undertaken as the Jews
prepared to battle their enemies.

This fast is observed like other minor fasts (see Tzom Gedalia, above). While normally observed on 13
Adar, the eve of Purim, this fast is advanced to Thursday, 11 Adar, when 13 Adar falls on Shabbat.

Purim and Shushan Purim

Main article: Purim

Purim (‫ )פורים‬commemorates the events that took place in the Book of Esther. The principal celebrations
or commemorations include:[36]

 The reading of the Megillah. Traditionally, this is read from a scroll twice during Purim–once in
the evening and again in the morning. Ashkenazim have a custom of making disparaging noises
at every mention of Haman's name during the reading.

 The giving of Mishloakh Manot, gifts of food and drink to friends and neighbors.

 The giving of Matanot La'evyonim, gifts to the poor and the needy.

 The Purim meal (Se'udat Purim or Purim Se'udah). This meal is traditionally accompanied by
consumption of alcohol, often heavy,[37] although Jewish sages have warned about the need to
adhere to all religious laws even in a drunken state.[Note 18]

Several customs have evolved from these principal commemorations. One widespread custom to act out
the story of Purim. The Purim spiel, or Purim play, has its origins in this, although the Purim spiel is not
limited to that subject.[38] Wearing of costumes and masks is also very common. These may be an
outgrowth of Purim plays, but there are several theories as to the origin of the custom, most related in
some way to the "hidden" nature of the miracles of Purim.[Note 19]

Purim carnivals of various types have also become customary. In Israel there are festive parades, known
as Ad-D'lo-Yada,[39] in the town's main street. The largest and most renowned is in Holon.[40]

Most Jews celebrate Purim on 14 Adar, the day of celebration after the Jews defeated their enemies.
Because Jews in the capital city of Shushan fought with their enemies an extra day, Purim is celebrated a
day later there, on the day known as ‫שושן פורים‬, Shushan Purim. This observance was expanded to
"walled cities",[36] which are defined as cities "walled since the time of Joshua".[41] In practice, there are
no Jews living in Shushan (Shush, Iran), and Shushan Purim is observed fully only in Jerusalem. Cities like
Safed and Tiberias also partially observe Shushan Purim. Elsewhere, Shushan Purim is marked only by a
small increase in festivity, including a prohibition on fasting, and slight changes in the liturgy.

Pesach—Passover

 Erev Pesach and Fast of the Firstborn, ("Ta'anit Bechorot"): 14 Nisan

 Pesach[Note 20] (Passover): 15–21 Nisan (outside Israel 15–22 Nisan)

 The first day and last day of Passover (outside Israel, first two and last two days) are full yom
tov, while the remainder of Passover has the status of Chol Hamoed, "intermediate days".
  Pesach Sheni (second Passover): 14 Iyar

Month of Nisan

As a rule, the month of Nisan is considered to be one of extra joy. Traditionally, throughout the entire
month, Tahanun is omitted from the prayer service, many public mourning practices (such as delivering
a eulogy at a funeral) are eliminated, and voluntary fasting is prohibited.[42] However, practices
sometimes vary.[43]

Eve of Passover and Fast of the Firstborn

Traditional arrangement of symbolic foods on a Passover Seder Plate

Table set for Passover seder

The day before Passover (Erev Pesach, lit., "Passover eve") is significant for three reasons:

 It is the day that all of the involved preparations for Passover, especially elimination of leavened
food, or chametz, must be completed. In particular, a formal search for remaining chametz is
done during the evening of Erev Pesach, and all remaining chametz is finally destroyed, disposed
of or nullified during the morning of Erev Pesach.[44]
  It is the day observed as the Fast of the Firstborn (‫)תענית בכורות‬. Jews who are firstborn[Note 21]
fast, in remembrance of the tenth plague, when God killed the Egyptian firstborn, while sparing
the Jewish firstborn.[45] This fast is overridden by a seudat mitzvah, a meal celebrating the
fulfillment of a commandment; accordingly, it is almost universal for firstborn Jews to attend
such a meal on this day[Note 22] so as to obviate their need to fast.

 During the era of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Korban Pesach, or sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb,
was carried out the afternoon of 14 Nisan in anticipation of its consumption on Passover
night.[44]

When Passover starts on Sunday, and the eve of Passover is therefore Shabbat, the above schedule is
altered. See Eve of Passover on Shabbat for details.

Passover

Main article: Passover

Passover (‫( )פּסח‬Pesach), also known liturgically as ‫"( חג המצות‬Ḥag haMatzot", the "Festival of Unleavened
Bread"), is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (shalosh regalim) mentioned in the Torah. Passover
commemorates the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelite slaves from Egypt.[46][47] No chametz (leavened
food) is eaten, or even owned, during the week of Passover, in commemoration of the biblical narrative
in which the Israelites left Egypt so quickly that their bread did not have enough time to rise.[48]
Observant Jews go to great lengths to remove all chametz from their homes and offices in the run-up to
Passover.[49]

Along with the avoidance of chametz, the principal ritual unique to this holiday is the seder. The seder,
meaning "order", is an ordered ritual meal eaten on the first night of Passover, and outside Israel also on
the second night. This meal is known for its distinctive ritual foods—matzo (unleavened bread), maror
(bitter herbs), and four cups of wine—as well as its prayer text/handbook/study guide, the Haggadah.
Participation in a Passover seder is one of the most widely observed Jewish rituals, even among less
affiliated or less observant Jews.[50]

Passover lasts seven days in Israel,[51] and eight days outside Israel. The holiday of the last day of
Passover (outside Israel, last two days) commemorates the Splitting of the Red Sea; according to
tradition this occurred on the seventh day of Passover.[52]

Pesach Sheni

Main article: Pesach Sheni

Pesach Sheni (‫"( )פסח שני‬Second Passover") is a day prescribed in the Torah[53] to allow those who did not
bring the Paschal Lamb offering (Korban Pesach) a second chance to do so. Eligibility was limited to
those who were distant from Jerusalem on Passover, or those who were ritually impure and ineligible to
participate in a sacrificial offering. Today, some have the custom to eat matzo on Pesach Sheni, and
some make a small change to the liturgy.

Sefirah—Counting of the Omer

Main article: Counting of the Omer

  Sefirat HaOmer (Counting of the Omer): 16 Nisan–5 Sivan[Note 23]

Sefirah (lit. "Counting"; more fully, Sefirat HaOmer, "Counting of the Omer") (‫)ספירת העומר‬, is the 49-day
period between the biblical pilgrimage festivals of Passover and Shavuot. The Torah states[54] that this
period is to be counted, both in days and in weeks. The first day of this period[Note 23] is the day of the
first grain offering of the new year's crop, an omer of barley. The day following the 49th day of the
period is the festival of Shavuot; the Torah specifies a grain offering of wheat on that day.[54]

Symbolically, this period has come to represent the spiritual development of the Israelites from slaves in
the polytheistic society of Ancient Egypt to free, monotheistic people worthy of the revelation of the
Torah, traditionally said to have occurred on Shavuot. Spiritual development remains a key rabbinic
teaching of this period.[55]

Sefirah has long been observed as a period of semi-mourning. The customary explanation[56] cites a
plague that killed 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva (BT Yevamot 62b).[Note 24] In broad terms, the mourning
practices observed include limiting actual celebrations (such as weddings), not listening to music, not
wearing new clothing, and not shaving or taking a haircut.[56] There is a wide variety of practice as to the
specifics of this observance. See Counting of the Omer (Semi-mourning).

Lag Ba'Omer bonfire

Lag Ba'Omer

Main article: Lag Ba'Omer

 Lag Ba'Omer: 18 Iyar

Lag Ba'Omer (‫ )לַ״ג בָּעוֹמֶר‬is the 33rd day in the Omer count (‫ לַ״ג‬is the number 33 in Hebrew). By
Ashkenazi practice, the semi-mourning observed during the period of Sefirah (see above) is lifted on Lag
Ba'Omer, while Sefardi practice is to lift it at the end of Lag Ba'Omer.[56][57] Minor liturgical changes are
made on Lag Ba'omer; because mourning practices are suspended, weddings are often conducted on
this day.
Lag Ba'Omer is identified as the Yom Hillula (yahrzeit) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of the leading
Tannaim (teachers quoted in the Mishna) and ascribed author of the core text of Kabbalah, the Zohar.
Customary celebrations include bonfires, picnics, and bow and arrow play by children.[58] Boys
sometimes receive their first haircuts on Lag Ba'Omer,[59] while Hasidic rebbes hold tishes in honor of the
day.

In Israel, Lag Ba'Omer is associated with the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire. In Zionist
thought, the plague that decimated Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 disciples is explained as a veiled reference to
the revolt; the 33rd day representing the end of the plague is explained as the day of Bar Kokhba's
victory. The traditional bonfires and bow-and-arrow play were thus reinterpreted as celebrations of
military victory.[58] In this vein, the order originally creating the Israel Defense Forces was issued on Lag
Ba'Omer 1948, 13 days after Israel declared independence.[60]

Shavuot—Feast of Weeks—Yom HaBikurim

Cheese blintzes, a traditional food on Shavuot

Main article: Shavuot

 Erev Shavuot: 5 Sivan

 Shavuot: 6 (and outside Israel: 7) Sivan

Shavuot (‫)שבועות‬, the Feast of Weeks, is one of the three pilgrimage festivals (Shalosh regalim) ordained
in the Torah. Different from other biblical holidays, the date for Shavuot is not explicitly fixed in the
Torah. Instead, it is observed on the day following the 49th and final day in the counting of the Omer.[54]
In the current era of the fixed Jewish calendar, this puts the date of Shavuot as 6 Sivan. In Israel and in
Reform Judaism, it is a one-day holiday; elsewhere, it is a two-day holiday extending through 7 Sivan.[Note
23]

According to Rabbinic tradition, codified in the Talmud at Shabbat 87b, the Ten Commandments were
given on this day. In the era of the Temple, there were certain specific offerings mandated for Shavuot,
and Shavuot was the first day for bringing of Bikkurim to the Temple. Other than those, there are no
explicit mitzvot unique to Shavuot given in the Torah (parallel to matzo on Passover or Sukkah on
Sukkot).

Nevertheless, there are a number of widespread customs observed on Shavuot. During this holiday the
Torah portion containing the Ten Commandments is read in the synagogue, and the biblical Book of
Ruth is read as well. It is traditional to eat dairy meals during Shavuot. In observant circles, all night
Torah study is common on the first night of Shavuot, while in Reform Judaism, Shavuot is the customary
date for Confirmation ceremonies.

Mourning for Jerusalem: Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av

The three-week period starting on 17 Tammuz and concluding after Tisha B'Av has traditionally been
observed as a period of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple there.

Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz

Main article: Seventeenth of Tammuz

 Shiva Asar B'Tammuz: 17 Tammuz

The Seventeenth of Tamuz (‫שבעה עשר בתמוז‬, Shiva Asar B'Tamuz) traditionally marks the first breach in
the walls of the Jerusalem during the Roman conquest in 70 CE, at the end of the Second Temple
period.[Note 25] According to tradition, this day has had negative connotations since Moses broke the first
set of tablets on this day.[61] The Mishnah cites five negative events that happened on 17 Tammuz.[62]

This fast is observed like other minor fasts (see Tzom Gedalia, above). When this fast falls out on
Shabbat, its observance is postponed until Sunday.

The Three Weeks and the Nine Days

Main articles: The Three Weeks and The Nine Days

 The Three Weeks: 17 Tammuz – 9 Av

 The Nine Days: 1–9 Av

 The Week of Tisha B'Av (beginning at the conclusion of Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av)

The period between the fasts of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av, known as the "Three Weeks" (Hebrew: ‫בין המצרים‬,
"between the straits"[63]), features a steadily increasing level of mourning practices as Tisha B'Av
approaches. Ashkenazi Jews refrain from conducting weddings and other joyful events throughout the
period unless the date is established by Jewish law (as for a bris or pidyon haben). They do not cut their
hair during this period.[64] Starting on the first of Av and throughout the nine days between the 1st and
9th days of Av, Ashkenazim traditionally refrain from eating meat and drinking wine, except on Shabbat
or at a Seudat Mitzvah (a Mitzvah meal, such as for a bris or siyum).[64] They also refrain from bathing for
pleasure.[64] Sefardic practice varies some from this; the less severe restrictions usually begin on 1 Av,
while the more severe restrictions apply during the week of Tisha B'Av itself.[64]

Subject to the variations described above, Orthodox Judaism continues to maintain the traditional
prohibitions. In Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and
Standards has issued several responsa (legal rulings) which hold that the prohibitions against weddings
in this timeframe are deeply held traditions, but should not be construed as binding law. Thus,
Conservative Jewish practice would allow weddings during this time, except on the 17th of Tammuz and
9th of Av themselves.[Note 26] Rabbis within Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism hold that
halakha (Jewish law) is no longer binding and follow their individual consciences on such matters.
Nevertheless, the rabbinical manual of the Reform movement encourages Reform rabbis not to conduct
weddings on Tisha B'Av itself "out of historical consciousness and respect" for the Jewish community.[65]
Tisha B'Av—Ninth of Av

Worshipers seated on the floor of the synagogue before the reading of Lamentations on Tisha B'Av

Main article: Tisha B'Av

 Tisha B'Av : 9 Av

Tisha B'Av (‫ )תשעה באב‬is a major fast day and day of mourning. A Midrashic tradition states that the
spies' negative report concerning the Land of Israel was delivered on Tisha B'Av. Consequently, the day
became auspicious for negative events in Jewish history. Most notably, both the First Temple, originally
built by King Solomon, and the Second Temple of Roman times were destroyed on Tisha B'Av.[62] Other
calamities throughout Jewish history are said to have taken place on Tisha B'Av, including King Edward
I's edict compelling the Jews to leave England (1290) and the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492.

Tisha B'Av is a major fast. It is a 25-hour fast, running from sundown to nightfall. As on Yom Kippur, not
only are eating and drinking prohibited, but also bathing, anointing, marital relations and the wearing of
leather shoes. Work is not prohibited, as on biblical holidays, but is discouraged. In the evening, the
Book of Lamentations is read in the synagogue, while in the morning lengthy kinot, poems of elegy, are
recited. From evening until noon mourning rituals resembling those of shiva are observed, including
sitting on low stools or the floor; after noon those restrictions are somewhat lightened, in keeping with
the tradition that Messiah will be born on Tisha B'Av.[66]

While the fast ends at nightfall of 9-10 Av, the restrictions of the Three Weeks and Nine Days continue
through noon on 10 Av because the Second Temple continued to burn through most of that day. When
9 Av falls on Shabbat, when fasting is prohibited, the fast is postponed until 10 Av. In that case, the
restrictions of the Three Weeks and Nine Days end with the fast, except for the prohibition against
eating meat and drinking wine, which extend until the morning of 10 Av.[66]

Tu B'Av

Main article: Tu B'Av

 Tu B'Av: 15 Av

Tu B'av (‫)ט״ו באב‬, lit. "15th of Av", is a day mentioned in the Talmud alongside Yom Kippur as "happiest
of the year".[28] It was a day celebrating the bringing of wood used for the Temple Service, as well as a
day when marriages were arranged. Today, it is marked by a small change in liturgy. In modern Israel,
the day has become somewhat of an analog to Valentine's Day.
Other fasts

Main article: Ta'anit

Several other fast days of ancient or medieval origin continue to be observed to some degree in modern
times. Such continued observance is usually by Orthodox Jews only, and is not universal today even
among Orthodox Jews.[Note 27]

 Fasts for droughts and other public troubles. Much of the Talmudic tractate Ta'anit is devoted to
the proclamation and execution of public fasts. The most detailed description refers to fasts in
times of drought in the Land of Israel.[67] Apparently these fasts included a Ne'ilah (closing)
prayer, a prayer now reserved for recitation on Yom Kippur only.[68]

While the specific fasts described in the Mishnah fell into disuse once Jews were exiled from the land of
Israel, various Jewish communities have declared fasts over the years, using these as a model. Two
examples include a fast among Polish Jews commemorating the massacre of Jews during the
Khmelnytsky Uprising and one among Russian Jews during anti-Jewish pogroms of the 1880s.[69][70]

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has urged fasting in times of
drought.[71]

 Behab (‫)בה"ב‬. The fasts of bet-hey-bet—Monday-Thursday-Monday—were established as a

vehicle for atonement from possible excesses during the extended holiday periods of Passover
and Sukkot.[72] They are proclaimed on the first Shabbat of the month of Iyar following Passover,
and Marcheshvan following Sukkot. Based on the model of Mishnah Ta'anit, they are then
observed on the Monday, Thursday and Monday following that Shabbat.

 Yom Kippur Katan ("little Yom Kippur"). These fasts originated in the sixteenth-century
Kabbalistic community of Safed. They are conceptually linked to the sin-offerings that were
brought to the Temple in Jerusalem on each Rosh Chodesh.[73] These fasts are observed on the
day before Rosh Chodesh in most months.[74]

Israeli/Jewish national holidays and days of remembrance

Main article: Public holidays in Israel

As a general rule, the biblical Jewish holidays (Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Shavuot,
Sukkot and Purim) are observed as public holidays in Israel. Chanukah is a school holiday, but businesses
remain open. On Tisha B'Av, restaurants and places of entertainment are closed. Other Jewish holidays
listed above are observed in varying ways and to varying degrees.

Between the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the aftermath of the Six-Day War, the Knesset,
generally in consultation with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, established four national holidays or days of
remembrance:

 Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day

 Yom Hazikaron: Memorial Day

 Yom Ha'atzmaut: Israel Independence Day

  Yom Yerushalayim: Jerusalem Day

The status of these days as religious events is not uniform within the Jewish world. Non-Orthodox,
Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox Jewish religious movements[Note 28] accept these days as religious
as well as national in nature.

As a rule, these four days are not accepted as religious observances by most Haredi Jews, including
Hasidim. Some ḥaredim are opposed to the existence of the State of Israel altogether on religious
grounds; others simply feel that there are not sufficient grounds under Jewish law to justify the
establishment of new religious holidays. For details, see Haredim and Zionism.

Observance of these days in Jewish communities outside Israel is typically more muted than their
observance in Israel. Events held in government and public venues within Israel are often held in Jewish
communal settings (synagogues and community centers) abroad.

More recently, the Knesset established two additional holidays:

 Yom HaAliyah: Aliyah Day

 A day to commemorate the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands and Iran

Finally, the Israeli government also recognizes several ethnic Jewish observances with holiday status.

Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day

A lit Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle

 Yom HaShoah: (nominally) 27 Nisan

Yom HaShoah (lit. "Holocaust Day") is a day of remembrance for victims of the Holocaust. Its full name is
Yom Hazikaron LaShoah v'LiGevurah (lit. "Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day") ( ‫יום הזכרון לשואה‬
‫)ולגבורה‬, and reflects a desire to recognize martyrs who died in active resistance to the Nazis alongside
those who died as passive victims. Its date, 27 Nisan, was chosen because it commemorates the Warsaw
Ghetto uprising, the best known of the armed Jewish uprisings.[Note 29][Note 30]

Places of public entertainment are closed throughout Israel in recognition of the day.[75] Public
commemoration of Yom HaShoah usually includes religious elements such as the recitation of Psalms,
memorial prayers, and kaddish, and the lighting of memorial candles. In Israel, the most notable
observances are the State memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem and the sirens marking off a two-minute
silence at 10:00 am. Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox Jews generally participate in such public
observances along with secular Jews and Jews who adhere to more liberal religious movements. Outside
Israel, Jewish communities observe Yom HaShoah in addition to or instead of their countries' Holocaust
Memorial Days.[75] Probably the most notable commemoration is the March of the Living, held at the site
of Auschwitz-Birkenau, attended by Jews from all parts of the world.

Outside Orthodoxy, a liturgy for Yom HaShoah is beginning to develop. The Conservative, Reform and
Reconstructionist prayer books all include liturgical elements for Yom HaShoah, to be added to the
regular weekday prayers. Conservative Judaism has written a scroll, called Megillat HaShoah, intended
to become a definitive liturgical reading for Yom HaShoah.[76][77] The Orthodox world–even the segment
that participates publicly in Yom HaShoah–has been reluctant to write a liturgy for the day, preferring to
compose Kinnot (prayers of lamentation) for recitation on Tisha B'Av.[76][Note 31]

In order to ensure that public Yom HaShoah ceremonies in Israel do not violate Shabbat prohibitions,
the date for Yom HaShoah varies[Note 32] as follows:

 If 27 Nisan occurs on a Friday, the observance of Yom HaShoah is advanced to the previous day
(Thursday, 26 Nisan).

 If 27 Nisan occurs on a Sunday, the observance of Yom HaShoah is delayed to the following day
(Monday, 28 Nisan).

Yom Hazikaron—Memorial Day

A moment of silence as the siren is sounded in Tel Aviv, Yom Hazikaron 2007

 Yom Hazikaron: (nominally) 4 Iyar

Yom Hazikaron (lit. "Memorial Day") is a day of remembrance of the fallen of Israel's wars. During the
first years of Israel's independence, this remembrance was observed on Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence
Day) itself. However, by 1951, the memorial observance was separated from the festive celebration of
Independence Day and moved to its current date, the day before Yom Ha'atzmaut.[78][Note 33] Since 2000,
the scope of the memorial has expanded to include civilians slain by acts of hostile terrorism. Its full
name is now ‫"( יום הזכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ולנפגעי פעולות האיבה‬Day of Remembrance for the Fallen of the
Battles of Israel and the Victims of Terror").[79]

Places of public entertainment are closed throughout Israel in recognition of the day.[80] Many schools,
businesses and other institutions conduct memorial services on this day, and it is customary to visit the
graves of fallen soldiers and to recite memorial prayers there. The principal public observances are the
evening opening ceremony at the Western Wall and the morning services of remembrance at military
cemeteries throughout the country, each opened by the sounding of sirens. The public observances
conclude with the service at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl that serves as the transition to Yom
Ha'atzmaut.
Outside Israel, Yom HaZikaron observances are often folded into Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations. Within
Israel, Yom Hazikaron is always the day before Yom Ha'atzmaut, but that date moves to prevent
violation of Sabbath prohibitions during the ceremonies of either day. See following section for details.

Yom Ha'atzmaut—Israel Independence Day

The final round of the International Bible Contest (here in 1985) is held on Yom Ha'atzmaut

Jerusalem Day celebrations

 Yom Ha'atzmaut: (nominally) 5 Iyar

Yom Ha'atzmaut (‫ )יום העצמאות‬is Israel's Independence Day. Observance of this day by Jews inside and
outside Israel is widespread,[81] and varies in tone from secular (military parades and barbecues) to
religious (recitation of Hallel and new liturgies).

Although Israel's independence was declared on a Friday, the Chief Rabbinate has long been mindful of
the possibility of Yom Ha'atzmaut (and Yom Hazikaron) observances leading to violation of Sabbath
prohibitions. To prevent such violations, the dates of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut vary[Note 32] as
follows:

 If 4–5 Iyar occur on a Sunday-Monday, the observances are delayed to Monday-Tuesday, 5–6
Iyar.
  If 4–5 Iyar occur on a Tuesday-Wednesday, the observances are not moved.

 If 4–5 Iyar occur on a Thursday-Friday, the observances are advanced to Wednesday-Thursday,

3–4 Iyar.

 If 4–5 Iyar occur on a Friday-Shabbat, the observances are advanced to Wednesday-Thursday,

2–3 Iyar.

Nearly all non-ḥaredi Jewish religious communities have incorporated changes or enhancements to the
liturgy in honor of Yom Ha'atzmaut and suspend the mourning practices of the period of Sefirat
Ha'Omer. (See Yom Ha'atzmaut—Religious Customs for details.) Within the Religious Zionist and
Modern Orthodox communities, these changes are not without controversy, and customs continue to
evolve.[82]

Ḥaredi religious observance of Yom Ha'atzmaut varies widely. A few ḥaredim (especially Sefardic
Ḥaredim) celebrate the day in a reasonably similar way to the way non-ḥaredim do.[83] Most ḥaredim
simply treat the day indifferently; i.e., as a regular day.[82] And finally others (notably Satmar Ḥasidim
and Neturei Karta) mourn on the day because of their opposition to the enterprise of the State of
Israel.[84]

Yom Yerushalayim—Jerusalem Day

 Yom Yerushalayim: 28 Iyar

Jerusalem Day (‫ )יום ירושלים‬marks the 1967 reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli control during the
Six-Day War. This marked the first time in 19 years that the Temple Mount was accessible to Jews, and
the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple 1900 years earlier that the Temple Mount was
under Jewish political control.

As with Yom Ha'atzmaut, celebrations of Yom Yerushalayim range from completely secular (including
hikes to Jerusalem and a large parade through downtown Jerusalem) to religious (recitation of Hallel
and new liturgies). Although Haredim do not participate in the liturgical changes, they are somewhat
more likely to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim than the other modern Israeli holidays because of the
importance of the liberation of the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem.[85]

Outside Israel, observance of Yom Yerushalayim is widespread, especially in Orthodox circles. It has not
gained as widespread acceptance as Yom Ha'atzmaut, especially among more politically liberal Jews,
because of the continuing conflicts over the future of the city.[86]

Yom Yerushalayim has not traditionally moved to avoid Shabbat desecration, although in 2012 the Chief
Rabbinate began some efforts in that direction.[87]

Yom HaAliyah—Aliyah Day

 Yom HaAliyah: 10 Nisan

Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant by Benjamin West

Aliyah Day (‫ )יום העלייה‬is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of Nisan.[88] The day
was established to acknowledge Aliyah, immigration to the Jewish state, as a core value of the State of
Israel, and honor the ongoing contributions of Olim (immigrants) to Israeli society.[89]
Immigration to Israel is a recognized religious value of Judaism, sometimes referred to as the Gathering
of Israel.[90] The date chosen for Yom HaAliyah, 10 Nisan, has religious significance: it is the day on which
Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at Gilgal into the Promised Land. It was thus the first
documented "mass Aliyah".[91] The alternative date observed in the school system, 7 Heshvan, falls
during the week of the Torah portion in which God instructs Abraham to leave his home and his family
and go up to the Land of Israel.[92]

At the present time, observance of this day appears to be secular in nature.[citation needed]

Day to commemorate the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands and Iran

 Day to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from the Arab Countries and Iran: 30
November (on the Gregorian calendar)

The Knesset established this observance in 2014. The purpose of this observance is to recognize the
collective trauma of Mizrahi Jews during the period around the establishment of the State of Israel.
Many Mizrachi Jews felt that their own suffering was being ignored, both in comparison to the suffering
of European Jewry during the Holocaust and in comparison to the Palestinian Nakba. The Gregorian-
calendar date chosen is the day after the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was adopted, as
that date marked the beginning of concentrated pressure and hostility against the community.[93]

At the present time, observance of this day appears to be secular in nature.

Ethnic holidays

Main articles: Mimouna, Seharane, and Sigd

The Israeli government officially recognizes three traditional holidays of ethnic Jewish communities in
Israel. These days are also observed by their respective communities outside Israel.

 Mimouna began as a holiday among Moroccan Jews, while similar celebrations also exist among
Turkish Jews and Persian Jews.[94] These festivals are observed on the day after Passover, when
the eating of ordinary food ("chametz") resumes. In Israel, the observance of Mimouna has
spread widely in recent years; it has been estimated that up to two million Jews who live in
Israel now participate in Mimouna celebrations.[95]

On the evening concluding Passover,[Note 34] the celebration centers on visiting the homes of friends and
neighbors, Jewish and non-Jewish. A variety of traditional foods are served, and symbols which
represent good luck and prosperity are prominently displayed. The next day, barbecues and picnics are
among the most widespread activities of the celebration.[96]

 The Seharane was celebrated by Kurdish Jews as a multi-day nature festival starting the day
after Passover. Communities would leave their villages and camp out for several days,
celebrating with eating and drinking, nature walks, singing and dancing.

Its observance was interrupted after the relocation of this community to Israel in the 1950s. In recent
years it has been revived. But because of the already-widespread celebration of Mimouna in Israel, the
celebration of the Seharane was moved to Chol HaMoed Sukkot.[97]
  The Sigd began among the Beta Israel (Ethiopian) community as a variation of the observance of
Yom Kippur. Currently that community now observes it in addition to Yom Kippur; its date is 29
Heshvan, 49 days after Yom Kippur. It shares some features of Yom Kippur, Shavuot, and other
holidays.[98]

The Sigd is modeled on a ceremony of fasting, study and prayer described in Nehemiah 8, when the Jews
rededicated themselves to religious observance on return to Israel after the Babylonian exile. In
Ethiopia, the community would gather on a mountaintop and pray for a return to Jerusalem. The
modern Sigd is centered on a promenade overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. The day's observance
ends with a celebratory break fast.[99]
Shabbat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the rest day in Judaism. For Sabbath in the Bible, see Biblical Sabbath. For the
Talmudic tractate, see Shabbat (Talmud).

Shabbat candles

Shabbat (/ʃəˈbæt/ or /ʃəˈbɑːt/; Hebrew: ‫[ שַׁבָּת‬ʃa'bat], "rest" or "cessation"), Shabbos (['ʃa.bəs], Ashkenazi
Hebrew and Yiddish: ‫)שבת‬, or the Sabbath, is Judaism's day of rest and seventh day of the week. On this
day, religious Jews, Samaritans and certain Christians (such as Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of
God (Seventh-Day) and Seventh Day Baptists) remember the biblical story describing the creation of the
heavens and the earth in six days and look forward to a future Messianic Age.

Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities, often with great rigor, and engaging in
restful activities to honour the day. Judaism's traditional position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat
originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution, though some suggest
other origins. Variations upon Shabbat are widespread in Judaism and, with adaptations, throughout the
Abrahamic and many other religions.

According to halakha (Jewish religious law), Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on
Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.[1] Shabbat is ushered in
by lighting candles and reciting a blessing. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: The first one is
held on Friday evening, the second is traditionally a lunch meal on Saturday and the third being held
later in the afternoon. The evening meal and the early afternoon meal typically begin with a blessing
called kiddush and another blessing recited over two loaves of challah. The third meal does not have the
Kiddush recited but all have the two loaves. Shabbat is closed Saturday evening with a havdalah
blessing.

Shabbat is a festive day when Jews exercise their freedom from the regular labours of everyday life. It
offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and to spend time with family.
Contents

 1 Etymology

 2 History

o 2.1 Biblical sources

o 2.2 Origins

 2.2.1 Babylon

 2.2.2 Assyria

o 2.3 Status as a holy day

 3 Rituals

o 3.1 Welcoming Shabbat

o 3.2 Other rituals

o 3.3 Bidding farewell

 4 Prohibited activities

o 4.1 Orthodox and Conservative

 4.1.1 Electricity

 4.1.2 Automobiles

 4.1.3 Modifications

 4.1.4 Permissions

o 4.2 Reform and Reconstructionist

 5 Encouraged activities

 6 Special Shabbat

 7 Sabbath adaptation

 8 See also

 9 References

Etymology

Main article: Sabbath etymology

The word "Shabbat" derives from the Hebrew verb shavat (Hebrew: ‫)שָׁבַת‬. Although frequently
translated as "rest" (noun or verb), another accurate translation of these words is "ceasing [from work]",
as resting is not necessarily denoted.[citation needed] The related modern Hebrew word shevita (labour
strike), has the same implication of active rather than passive abstinence from work. The notion of
active cessation from labour is also regarded[by whom?] as more consistent with an omnipotent God's
activity on the seventh day of Creation according to Genesis. Other significant connotations[citation needed]
are to shevet (‫ )שֶּׁבֶת‬which means sitting or staying, and to sheva (‫ )שֶׁבַע‬meaning seven, as Shabbat is the
seventh day of the week; the other days of the week do not have names but called by their ordinals.

History

Biblical sources

Main article: Biblical Sabbath

Sabbath is given special status as a holy day at the very beginning of the Torah in Genesis 2:1–3. It is first
commanded after the Exodus from Egypt, in Exodus 16:26 (relating to the cessation of manna) and in
Exodus 16:29 (relating to the distance one may travel by foot on the Sabbath), as also in Exodus 20:8–11
(as the fourth of the Ten Commandments). Sabbath is commanded and commended many more times
in the Torah and Tanakh; double the normal number of animal sacrifices are to be offered on the day.[2]
Sabbath is also described by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Nehemiah.

Origins

A silver matchbox holder for Shabbat from the North Macedonia

The longstanding traditional Jewish position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the
Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution.[3] The origins of Shabbat and a seven-day week
are not clear to scholars; the Mosaic tradition claims an origin from the Biblical creation.[4][5]

Seventh-day Shabbat did not originate with the Egyptians, to whom it was unknown;[6] and other origin
theories based on the day of Saturn, or on the planets generally, have also been abandoned.[7]

The first non-Biblical reference to Sabbath is in an ostracon found in excavations at Mesad Hashavyahu,
which is dated 630 BCE.[8]

Babylon

For the Babylonian concept of sapattu or sabattu, see here.

Assyria

Connection to Sabbath observance has been suggested in the designation of the seventh, fourteenth,
nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eight days of a lunar month in an Assyrian religious calendar as a
'holy day', also called ‘evil days’ (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). The prohibitions on
these days, spaced seven days apart, include abstaining from chariot riding, and the avoidance of eating
meat by the King. On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were
forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day".[9][10] The Universal Jewish
Encyclopedia advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch[3] (and of Marcello Craveri)[11]
that Shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle in the Babylonian calendar[12][13] containing four weeks
ending in Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month.[14] The difficulties of this
theory include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining
the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Sabbath in any language.[7]

Status as a holy day

A challah cover with Hebrew inscription

The Tanakh and siddur describe Shabbat as having three purposes:

1. To commemorate God's creation of the universe, on the seventh day of which God rested from
(or ceased) his work;

2. To commemorate the Israelites' redemption from slavery in ancient Egypt;

3. As a "taste" of Olam Haba (the Messianic Age).

Judaism accords Shabbat the status of a joyous holy day. In many ways, Jewish law gives Shabbat the
status of being the most important holy day in the Jewish calendar:[15]

 It is the first holy day mentioned in the Bible, and God was the first to observe it with the
cessation of Creation (Genesis 2:1–3).

 Jewish liturgy treats Shabbat as a "bride" and "queen" (see Shekhinah); some sources described
it as a "king".[16]

 The Sefer Torah is read during the Torah reading which is part of the Shabbat morning services,
with a longer reading than during the week. The Torah is read over a yearly cycle of 54
parashioth, one for each Shabbat (sometimes they are doubled). On Shabbat, the reading is
divided into seven sections, more than on any other holy day, including Yom Kippur. Then, the
Haftarah reading from the Hebrew prophets is read.

 A tradition states that the Jewish Messiah will come if every Jew properly observes two
consecutive Shabbatoth.[17]

 The punishment in ancient times for desecrating Shabbat (stoning) is the most severe
punishment in Jewish law.[18]

Rituals

"Shabbat dinner" redirects here. For the film, see Shabbat Dinner.

Welcoming Shabbat
Reciting blessing over Shabbat candles

Honoring Shabbat (kavod Shabbat) on Preparation Day (Friday) includes bathing, having a haircut and
cleaning and beautifying the home (with flowers, for example). According to Jewish law, Shabbat starts a
few minutes before sunset. Candles are lit at this time. It is customary in many communities to light the
candles 18 minutes before sundown (tosefet Shabbat, though sometimes 36 minutes), and most printed
Jewish calendars adhere to this custom. The Kabbalat Shabbat service is a prayer service welcoming the
arrival of Shabbat. Before Friday night dinner, it is customary to sing two songs, one "greeting" two
Shabbat angels into the house[19] (Shalom Aleichem -Peace Be Upon You) and the other praising the
woman of the house for all the work she has done over the past week (Aishes Chayil - Women Of
Valour).[20] After blessings over the wine and challah, a festive meal is served. Singing is traditional at
Sabbath meals.[21] In modern times, many composers have written sacred music for use during the
Kabbalat Shabbat observance, including Robert Strassburg [22] and Samuel Adler.[23]

According to rabbinic literature, God via the Torah commands Jews to observe (refrain from forbidden
activity) and remember (with words, thoughts, and actions) Shabbat, and these two actions are
symbolized by the customary two Shabbat candles. Candles are lit usually by the woman of the house
(or else by a man who lives alone). Some families light more candles, sometimes in accordance with the
number of children.[24]

Other rituals

"Oyneg Shabes" and "Oneg Shabbat" redirect here. For the collection of documents from the Warsaw
Ghetto collected and preserved by the group known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, see Ringelblum
Archive.

Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as prayer. It is customary to eat three festive meals: Dinner on
Shabbat eve (Friday night), lunch on Shabbat day (Saturday), and a third meal (a Seudah
Shlishit/"Shalosh Seudot"[25]) in the late afternoon (Saturday). It is also customary to wear nice clothing
(different from during the week) on Shabbat to honor the day.

On June 13, 2014, Am Yisrael Foundation’s White City Shabbat organization set the Guinness World
Record for the world's largest Shabbat dinner. Held at Hangar 11 at Tel Aviv Port, the event was
attended by 2,226 people, including Alan Dershowitz, Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai, Israeli basketball star
Tal Brody and former US Ambassador Michael Oren. The event took almost a year of preparation and
involved “60 days of crowd-sourced fundraising,[26] 800 bottles of Israeli wine, 80 bottles of vodka, 50
bottles of whiskey, 2,000 challah rolls, 80 long tables, 1,800 pieces of chicken, 1,000 portions of beef and
250 vegetarian meals.” A total of 2,300 diners signed up for the dinner and another 3,000 were placed
on the waiting list.[27]

Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not do so during the week. Services
are held on Shabbat eve (Friday night), Shabbat morning (Saturday morning), and late Shabbat
afternoon (Saturday afternoon).

With the exception of Yom Kippur, which is referred to in the Torah (Lev 23:32) as "Shabbat of
Shabbatoth", days of public fasting are postponed or advanced if they coincide with Shabbat. Mourners
sitting shivah (week of mourning subsequent to the death of a spouse or first-degree relative) outwardly
conduct themselves normally for the duration of the day and are forbidden to display public signs of
mourning.

Although most Shabbat laws are restrictive, the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus is taken by
the Talmud and Maimonides to allude to the positive commandments of Shabbat. These include:

 Honoring Shabbat (kavod Shabbat): on Shabbat, wearing festive clothing and refraining from
unpleasant conversation. It is customary to avoid talking on Shabbat about money, business
matters, or secular things that one might discuss during the week.[28][29]

 Recitation of kiddush over a cup of wine at the beginning of Shabbat meals, or at a reception
after the conclusion of morning prayers (see the list of Jewish prayers and blessings).


 Two homemade whole-wheat challot covered by traditional embroidered Shabbat challah cover

Eating three festive meals. Meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread (lechem mishneh,
"double bread"), usually of braided challah, which is symbolic of the double portion of manna that fell
for the Jewish people on the day before Sabbath during their 40 years in the desert after the Exodus
from Egypt. It is customary to serve meat or fish, and sometimes both, for Shabbat evening and morning
meals. Seudah Shlishit (literally, "third meal"), generally a light meal that may be pareve or dairy, is
eaten late Shabbat afternoon.

 Enjoying Shabbat (oneg Shabbat): Engaging in pleasurable activities such as eating, singing,
spending time with the family and marital relations. Sometimes referred to as "Shabbating".

 Recitation of havdalah.

Bidding farewell

Main article: Havdalah

Observing the closing havdalah ritual in 14th-century Spain

Havdalah (Hebrew: ‫הַבְדָּלָה‬, "separation") is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of
Shabbat, and ushers in the new week. At the conclusion of Shabbat at nightfall, after the appearance of
three stars in the sky, the havdalah blessings are recited over a cup of wine, and with the use of fragrant
spices and a candle, usually braided. Some communities delay havdalah later into the night in order to
prolong Shabbat. There are different customs regarding how much time one should wait after the stars
have surfaced until the sabbath technically ends. Some people hold by 72 minutes later and other hold
longer and shorter than that.

Prohibited activities

Main article: Activities prohibited on Shabbat

Jewish law (halakha) prohibits doing any form of melakhah (‫מְלָאכָה‬, plural melakhoth) on Shabbat, unless
an urgent human or medical need is life-threatening. Though melakhah is commonly translated as
"work" in English, a better definition is "deliberate activity" or "skill and craftmanship". There are 39
categories of prohibited activities (melakhoth) listed in Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 7:2.

The term shomer Shabbat is used for a person (or organization) who adheres to Shabbat laws
consistently. The shomer Shabbat is an archetype mentioned in Jewish songs (e.g., Baruch El Elyon) and
the intended audience for various treatises on Jewish law and practice for Shabbat (e.g., Shemirat
Shabbat ke-Hilkhata).

There are often disagreements between Orthodox Jews and non-Orthodox Jews as to the practical
observance of the Sabbath. The (strict) observance of the Sabbath is often seen as a benchmark for
orthodoxy and indeed has legal bearing on the way a Jew is seen by an orthodox religious court
regarding their affiliation to Judaism. See Yosef Dov Soloveitchik's "Beis HaLevi" commentary on parasha
Ki Tissa for further elaboration regarding the legal ramifications.

The 39 categories of melakhah are:

 plowing earth
 sowing

 reaping

 binding sheaves

 threshing

 winnowing

 selecting

 grinding

 sifting

 kneading

 baking

 shearing wool

 washing wool

 beating wool

 dyeing wool

 spinning

 weaving

 making two loops

 weaving two threads

 separating two threads

 tying

 untying

 sewing stitches

 tearing

 trapping

 slaughtering

 flaying

 tanning

 scraping hide

 marking hide
  cutting hide to shape

 writing two or more letters

 erasing two or more letters

 building

 demolishing

 extinguishing a fire

 kindling a fire

 putting the finishing touch on an object, and

 transporting an object (between private and public domains, or over 4 cubits within public
domain)

The categories of labors prohibited on Shabbat are exegetically derived – on account of Biblical passages
juxtaposing Shabbat observance (Ex. 35:1–3) to making the Tabernacle (Ex. 35:4 ff.) – that they are the
kinds of work that were necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle. They are not explicitly listed in
the Torah; the Mishnah observes that "the laws of Shabbat ... are like mountains hanging by a hair, for
they are little Scripture but many laws".[30] Many rabbinic scholars have pointed out that these labors
have in common activity that is "creative", or that exercises control or dominion over one's
environment.[31]

Orthodox and Conservative

Different streams of Judaism view the prohibition on work in different ways. Observant Orthodox and
Conservative Jews refrain from performing the 39 prohibited categories of activities. Each melakhah has
derived prohibitions of various kinds. There are, therefore, many more forbidden activities on Shabbat;
all are traced back to one of the 39 above principal melakhoth.

Given the above, the 39 melakhoth are not so much activities as "categories of activity". For example,
while "winnowing" usually refers exclusively to the separation of chaff from grain, and "selecting" refers
exclusively to the separation of debris from grain, they refer in the Talmudic sense to any separation of
intermixed materials which renders edible that which was inedible. Thus, filtering undrinkable water to
make it drinkable falls under this category, as does picking small bones from fish (gefilte fish is one
solution to this problem).

Electricity

Main article: Electricity on Shabbat

Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that turning electric devices on or off is prohibited as a
melakhah; however, authorities are not in agreement about exactly which one(s). One view is that tiny
sparks are created in a switch when the circuit is closed, and this would constitute lighting a fire
(category 37). If the appliance is purposed for light or heat (such as an incandescent bulb or electric
oven), then the lighting or heating elements may be considered as a type of fire that falls under both
lighting a fire (category 37) and cooking (i.e., baking, category 11). Turning lights off would be
extinguishing a fire (category 36).

Another view is that a device plugged into an electrical outlet of a wall becomes part of the building, but
is nonfunctional while the switch is off; turning it on would then constitute building (category 35) and
turning it off would be demolishing (category 34). Some schools of thought consider the use of
electricity to be forbidden only by rabbinic injunction, rather than because it violates one of the original
categories.

A common solution to the problem of electricity involves preset timers (Shabbat clocks) for electric
appliances, to turn them on and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat itself. Some
Conservative authorities[32][33][34] reject altogether the arguments for prohibiting the use of electricity.
Some Orthodox also hire a "Shabbos goy", a Gentile to perform prohibited tasks (like operating light
switches) on Shabbat.

Automobiles

Main article: Driving during Shabbat

Orthodox and many Conservative authorities completely prohibit the use of automobiles on Shabbat as
a violation of multiple categories, including lighting a fire, extinguishing a fire, and transferring between
domains (category 39). However, the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and
Standards permits driving to a synagogue on Shabbat, as an emergency measure, on the grounds that if
Jews lost contact with synagogue life they would become lost to the Jewish people.

A halakhically authorized Shabbat mode added to a power-operated mobility scooter may be used on
the observance of Shabbat for those with walking limitations, often referred to as a Shabbat scooter. It
is intended only for individuals whose limited mobility is dependent on a scooter or automobile
consistently throughout the week.

Modifications

Seemingly "forbidden" acts may be performed by modifying technology such that no law is actually
violated. In Sabbath mode, a "Sabbath elevator" will stop automatically at every floor, allowing people
to step on and off without anyone having to press any buttons, which would normally be needed to
work. (Dynamic braking is also disabled if it is normally used, i.e., shunting energy collected from
downward travel, and thus the gravitational potential energy of passengers, into a resistor network.)
However, many rabbinical authorities consider the use of such elevators by those who are otherwise
capable as a violation of Shabbat, with such workarounds being for the benefit of the frail and
handicapped and not being in the spirit of the day.

Many observant Jews avoid the prohibition of carrying by use of an eruv. Others make their keys into a
tie bar, part of a belt buckle, or a brooch, because a legitimate article of clothing or jewelry may be worn
rather than carried. An elastic band with clips on both ends, and with keys placed between them as
integral links, may be considered a belt.

Shabbat lamps have been developed to allow a light in a room to be turned on or off at will while the
electricity remains on. A special mechanism blocks out the light when the off position is desired without
violating Shabbat.
The Shabbos App is a proposed Android app claimed by its creators to enable Orthodox Jews, and all
Jewish Sabbath-observers, to use a smartphone to text on the Jewish Sabbath. It has met with resistance
from some authorities.[35][36][37][38]

Permissions

Main article: Pikuach nefesh

In the event that a human life is in danger (pikuach nefesh), a Jew is not only allowed, but required,[39][40]
to violate any halakhic law that stands in the way of saving that person (excluding murder, idolatry, and
forbidden sexual acts). The concept of life being in danger is interpreted broadly: for example, it is
mandated that one violate Shabbat to bring a woman in active labor to a hospital. Lesser rabbinic
restrictions are often violated under much less urgent circumstances (a patient who is ill but not
critically so).

We did everything to save lives, despite Shabbat. People asked: "Why are you here? There are no Jews
here," but we are here because the Torah orders us to save lives .... We are desecrating Shabbat with
pride.

— Mati Goldstein, commander of the Jewish ZAKA rescue-mission to the 2010 Haiti earthquake[41]

Various other legal principles closely delineate which activities constitute desecration of Shabbat.
Examples of these include the principle of shinui ("change" or "deviation"): A violation is not regarded as
severe if the prohibited act was performed in a way that would be considered abnormal on a weekday.
Examples include writing with one's nondominant hand, according to many rabbinic authorities. This
legal principle operates bedi'avad (ex post facto) and does not cause a forbidden activity to be permitted
barring extenuating circumstances.

Reform and Reconstructionist

Generally, adherents of Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism believe that the individual Jew
determines whether to follow Shabbat prohibitions or not. For example, some Jews might find activities,
such as writing or cooking for leisure, to be enjoyable enhancements to Shabbat and its holiness, and
therefore may encourage such practices. Many Reform Jews believe that what constitutes "work" is
different for each person, and that only what the person considers "work" is forbidden.[42] The radical
Reform rabbi Samuel Holdheim advocated moving Sabbath to Sunday for many no longer observed it, a
step taken by dozens of congregations in the United States in late 19th century.[43]

More rabbinically traditional Reform and Reconstructionist Jews believe that these halakhoth in general
may be valid, but that it is up to each individual to decide how and when to apply them. A small fraction
of Jews in the Progressive Jewish community accept these laws much the same way as Orthodox Jews.

Encouraged activities

All Jewish denominations encourage the following activities on Shabbat:

 Reading, studying, and discussing Torah and commentary, Mishnah and Talmud, and learning
some halakha and midrash.

 Synagogue attendance for prayers.

  Spending time with other Jews and socializing with family, friends, and guests at Shabbat meals
(hachnasat orchim, "hospitality").

 Singing zemiroth or niggunim, special songs for Shabbat meals (commonly sung during or after a
meal).

 Marital relations between husband and wife.[44]

 Sleeping.

Special Shabbat

Main article: Special Shabbat

Special Shabbatot are the Shabbatot that precede important Jewish holidays: e.g., Shabbat HaGadol
(Shabbat preceding Pesach), Shabbat Zachor (Shabbat preceding Purim), and Shabbat Shuvah (Shabbat
between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur).

Sabbath adaptation

Main articles: First-day Sabbath and Seventh-day Sabbath

Most Christians do not observe Saturday Sabbath, but instead observe a weekly day of worship on
Sunday, which is often called the "Lord's Day". Several Christian denominations, such as the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, the Church of God (7th Day), the Seventh Day Baptists, and many others, observe
seventh-day Sabbath. This observance is celebrated from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

The principle of weekly Sabbath also exists in other beliefs. Examples include the Babylonian calendar,
the Buddhist uposatha, and the Unification Church's Ahn Shi Il.
Bar and bat mitzvah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Bat mitzvah)

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"Bar mitzvah" and "Bat mitzvah" redirect here. For other uses, see Bar mitzvah (disambiguation) and Bat
mitzvah (disambiguation).

Bar and Bat Mitzvah

Bar mitzvah ceremony at a Reform synagogue.

‫בַּר מִצְוָה‬
Native name
‫בַּת מִצְוָה‬

Boys (bar mitzvah): 13 years old

Time
Girls (bat mitzvah): 12, 13 (Reform)

Type Coming-of-age ceremony

Reaching the age of bar or bat mitzvah

Theme signifies becoming a full-fledged member of
the Jewish community

Bar mitzvah (Hebrew: ‫ )בַּר מִצְוָה‬is a Jewish coming of age ritual for boys, whereas bat mitzvah (Hebrew:
‫ ;בַּת מִצְוָה‬Ashkenazi pronunciation: bas mitzveh) is a Jewish coming of age ritual for girls. The plural is
b'nai mitzvah for boys, and b'not mitzvah (Ashkenazi pronunciation: b'nos mitzvah) for girls.

According to Jewish law, when a Jewish boy is 13 years old, he becomes accountable for his actions and
becomes a bar mitzvah. A girl becomes a bat mitzvah at the age of 12 according to Orthodox and
Conservative Jews, and at the age of 13 according to Reform Jews.[1] Before the child reaches bar
mitzvah age, parents hold the responsibility for their child's actions. After this age, the boys and girls
bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are able to participate in all
areas of Jewish community life. Traditionally, the father of the bar mitzvah gives thanks to God that he is
no longer punished for the child's sins.[2] In addition to being considered accountable for their actions
from a religious perspective, a 13-year-old male may be counted towards an Orthodox prayer quorum
and may lead prayer and other religious services in the family and the community.
Bar mitzvah is mentioned in the Mishnah[3] and in the Talmud. In some classic sources, the age of 13
appears for instance as the age from which males must fast on Yom Kippur, while females fast from the
age of 12. The age of B'nai mitzvah roughly coincides with physical puberty.[4] The bar or bat mitzvah
ceremony is usually held on the first Shabbat after a boy's thirteenth and a girl's twelfth birthday (or
thirteenth in Reform congregations).

Contents

 1 Etymology

 2 History

o 2.1 Age thirteen

o 2.2 The term "bar mitzvah"

o 2.3 History

 3 Significance

 4 Aliyah to the Torah

 5 Tefillin

 6 Parties

 7 Bat Mitzvah customs

 8 Alternative ceremonies

 9 Gifts

 10 In adults

 11 See also

 12 References

 13 Further reading

 14 External links

o 14.1 Bar mitzvah

o 14.2 Bat mitzvah

Etymology

Bar (‫ )בַּר‬is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word meaning "son" (‫)בֵּן‬, while bat (‫ )בַּת‬means "daughter" in
Hebrew, and mitzvah (‫ )מִצְוָה‬means "commandment" or "law" (plural: mitzvot). Thus bar mitzvah and bat
mitzvah literally translate to "son of commandment" and "daughter of commandment". However, in
rabbinical usage, the word bar means "under the category of" or "subject to". Bar mitzvah therefore
translates to "a [agent] who is subject to the law". Although the term is commonly used to refer to the
ritual itself, the phrase originally refers to the person.

History

The modern method of celebrating becoming a bar mitzvah did not exist in the time of the Hebrew
Bible, Mishnah or Talmud. Early rabbinic sources specify 13 as the age at which a boy becomes a legal
adult; however, the celebration of this occasion is not mentioned until the Middle Ages.

Age thirteen

Bar Mitzvah in a Synagogue by Oscar Rex

The Bible does not explicitly specify the age thirteen. Passages in the books of Exodus and Numbers note
the age of majority for army service as twenty.[5] Machzor Vitri notes that Genesis 34:25 refers to Levi as
a "man", when a calculation from other verses suggests that Levi was aged thirteen at the time.[6]

The age of thirteen is mentioned in the Mishnah as the time one is obligated to observe the Torah's
commandments: "At five years old one should study the Scriptures, at ten years for the Mishnah, at 13
for the commandments..."[7][8]

Elsewhere,[9] the Mishna lists the ages (13 for boys and 12 for girls) at which a vow is considered
automatically valid; the Talmud explains this as a result of the 13-year-old being a "man", as required in
Numbers 6:2.[10] (For one year before this age, the vows are conditionally valid, depending on whether
the boy or girl has signs of physical maturity.[9])

Other sources also list thirteen as the age of majority with respect to following the commandments of
the Torah, including:

 "Why is the evil inclination personified as the great king (Ecclesiastes 9:14)? Because it is
thirteen years older than the good inclination." That is to say, one's good inclination begins to
act upon reaching the age of majority.[11]
  According to Pirke Rabbi Eli'ezer 26, Abraham rejected the idolatry of his father and became a
worshiper of God when he was thirteen years old.[12]

The term "bar mitzvah"

The term "bar mitzvah" appears first in the Talmud, meaning "one who is subject to the law", though it
does not refer to age.[13] The term "bar mitzvah", in reference to age, cannot be clearly traced earlier
than the 14th century, the older rabbinical term being "gadol" (adult) or "bar 'onshin" (one legally
responsible for own misdoings).[12]

History

Many sources indicate that the ceremonial observation of a bar mitzvah developed in the Middle
Ages.[8][14]

Some late midrashic sources, and some medieval sources refer to a synagogue ceremony performed
upon the boy's reaching age thirteen:

 Simon Tzemach Duran quotes a Midrash interpreting the Hebrew word zo ("this") in Isaiah 43:21
("These people have I formed for myself, they shall speak my praise") as referring by its
numerical value to those that have reached the age of 13.[15] This seems to imply that, at the
time of the composition of the Midrash the bar mitzvah publicly pronounced a blessing on the
occasion of his entrance upon maturity.

 The Midrash Hashkem:[16] "The heathen when he begets a son consecrates him to idolatrous
practices; the Israelite has his son circumcised and the rite of 'pidyon haben' performed; and as
soon as he becomes of age he brings him into the synagogue and school in order that he may
praise the name of God, reciting the Barechu."

 Masseket Soferim (18:5) makes matters even more explicit: "In Jerusalem they are accustomed
to initiate their children to fast on the Day of Atonement, a year or two before their maturity;
and then, when the age has arrived, to bring the Bar Mitzvah before the priest or elder for
blessing, encouragement, and prayer, that he may be granted a portion in the Law and in the
doing of good works. Whosoever is of superiority in the town is expected to pray for him as he
bows down to him to receive his blessing."

 Genesis Rabbah:[2] "Up to thirteen years Esau and Jacob went together to the primary school
and back home; after the thirteen years were over, the one went to the beit midrash to study
Law, the other to the house of idols. Regarding this, Rabbi Eleazar remarks, 'Until the thirteenth
year it is the father's duty to train his boy; after this, he must say: "Blessed be He who has taken
from me the responsibility [the punishment] for this boy!"

Later on, are references to a festive celebration on this occasion:

 "It is a mitzvah for a person to make a meal on the day his son becomes Bar Mitzvah as on the
day he enters the wedding canopy."[17]

Significance
Reaching the age of bar or bat Mitzvah signifies becoming a full-fledged member of the Jewish
community with the responsibilities that come with it. These include moral responsibility for one's own
actions; eligibility to be called to read from the Torah and lead or participate in a minyan; the right to
possess personal property and to legally marry on one's own according to Jewish law; the duty to follow
the 613 laws of the Torah and keep the halakha; and the capacity to testify as a witness in a beth din
(rabbinical court) case.

Many congregations require pre-bar mitzvah children to attend a minimum number of Shabbat prayer
services at the synagogue, study at a Hebrew school, take on a charity or community service project and
maintain membership in good standing with the synagogue. In addition to study and preparation
offered through the synagogue and Hebrew schools, bar mitzvah tutors may be hired to prepare the
child through the study of Hebrew, Torah cantillation and basic Jewish concepts.

According to Rabbi Mark Washofsky, "The Reform Movement in North America has struggled over the
bar/bat mitzvah. At one time, this ceremony was on the verge of extinction in Reform congregations.
Most of them preferred to replace bar/bat mitzvah with confirmation, which they considered a more
enlightened and appropriate ceremony for modern Jews. Yet the enduring popularity of bar/bat mitzvah
prevailed and today, in our communities, bar/bat mitzvah is 'virtually universally observed' by Reform
Jews." [18]

In 2012, concern about the high post-bar/bat mitzvah drop out rate led the Union for Reform Judaism to
launch the B'nai Mitzvah Revolution, an effort to shift Reform congregations away from "the long-held
assumption that religious school is about preparing kids for their bar/bat mitzvah" and focus instead on
teaching them how to become committed and involved members of the Jewish community.[19]

Aliyah to the Torah

Bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

The widespread practice is that on a Sabbath shortly after he has attained the age of thirteen, a boy is
called up to read from the weekly portion of the Law (Torah),[20] either as one of the first seven men or
as the last, in which case he will read the closing verses and the Haftarah (selections from the books of
the Prophets); and if he is unable to read, to recite at least the benediction before and after the
reading.[12] He may also give a d'var Torah (a discussion of some Torah issue, such as a discussion of that
week's Torah portion) and/or lead part or all of the prayer services.

In Orthodox circles, the occasion is sometimes celebrated during a weekday service that includes
reading from the Torah, such as a Monday or Thursday morning service.

Some communities or families may delay the celebration for reasons such as availability of a Shabbat
during which no other celebration has been scheduled, or due to the desire to permit the family to
travel to the event. However, this does not delay the onset of rights and responsibilities of being a
Jewish adult which comes about strictly by virtue of age.

Tefillin

Bar mitzvah boy wearing tallit and tefillin

The obligation to lay tefillin begins when a boy reaches bar mitzvah age. The common custom is for the
bar mitzvah boy to begin putting on tefillin one to three months before his bar mitzvah. This way, by the
time he is obligated in the commandment, he will already know how to fulfill it properly.[21]

Parties

As the first mention of a party associated with a synagogue bar mitzvah was in the 13th century, hosting
some sort of party is traditional and frequently considered necessary.[22]

Bar mitzvah festivities typically include a joyous seudat mitzvah, a celebratory meal with family, friends,
and members of the community, the Bar Mitzvah boy delivering on this occasion a learned discourse or
oration at the table before the invited guests, who offer him presents, while the rabbi or teacher gives
him his blessing, accompanying it at times with an address.[12] Some Jews celebrate in other ways such
as taking the bar or bat mitzvah on a special trip or organizing some special event in the celebrant's
honour. In many communities, the celebrant is given a certificate. According to the Orthodox view, the
bar mitzvah boy is so happy to be commanded to do mitzvot and earn a reward in the next world for his
efforts, that he throws a party and has a festive meal.[dubious – discuss]
In some times and places, local Jewish leaders have officially limited the size and elaborateness of
mitzvahs.[22] For example, only ten men were permitted to attend the party in 1730 in Berlin, and the
music was banned at these parties in 1767 in Prague.[22] These rules were usually meant to avoid
offending non-Jewish neighbours, and to maintain the rule that it be a smaller celebration than a
wedding.[22]

Bar and bat mitzvah parties among wealthy Jewish families in North America are often lavish affairs held
at hotels and country clubs with hundreds of guests.[23][24][25] The trend has been mocked, most notably
in the movie Keeping Up with the Steins. In the 1950s, Rabbi Harold Saperstein of New York described
them as too often being "more bar than mitzvah".[22] Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says that over-the-top bar
mitzvah parties were already common when he was growing up in Miami in the 1970s.[26]

In 1979, the Responsa Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis addressed the Reform
attitude toward bar/bat mitzvah: "Every effort should be exerted to maintain the family festivities in the
religious mood at the bar/bat mitzvah. Some of the efforts of early Reform in favor of confirmation [and]
against bar mitzvah were prompted by the extravagant celebration of bar mitzvah, which had removed
its primary religious significance. We vigorously oppose such excesses, as they destroy the meaning of
bar/bat mitzvah."[19]

In May, 1992, the board of trustees of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for
Reform Judaism), the synagogue arm of the Reform Movement, unanimously passed a resolution
decrying "excesses of wasteful consumption...glitzy theme events, sophisticated entertainment...and
expensive party favors", calling instead for "family cohesion, authentic friendship, acts of tzedakah
(righteous giving), and parties suitable for children."[19]

The cost of the party depends upon what the family is willing and able to spend. Some families spend
tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars on the party.[22] Generally speaking, these celebrations
are less costly and elaborate than a wedding in that family.[22] In addition to food and drink for the
guests, the money at an elaborate party is mostly spent on renting and decorating a venue and hiring
staff, from the catering team to emcees, DJs, entertainers, and dancers (also called "motivators") to
encourage the guests to dance or play games.[22]

Bat Mitzvah customs

Egyptian Alexandria Jewish girls during bat mitzvah

A Conservative bat mitzvah in Israel

Reading from the Torah (Sephardi custom)

Today many non-Orthodox Jews celebrate a girl's bat mitzvah in the same way as a boy's bar mitzvah. All
Reform and Reconstructionist, and most Conservative synagogues have egalitarian participation, in
which women read from the Torah and lead services. In Orthodox communities, a Bat Mitzvah is
celebrated when a girl reaches the age of 12.

The majority of Orthodox and some Conservative Jews reject the idea that a woman can publicly read
from the Torah or lead prayer services whenever there is a minyan (quorum of 10 males) available to do
so. However, the public celebration of a girl becoming bat mitzvah in other ways has made strong
inroads into Modern Orthodox Judaism and also into some elements of Haredi Judaism. In these
congregations, women do not read from the Torah or lead prayer services, but they occasionally lecture
on a Jewish topic to mark their coming of age, learn a book of Tanakh, recite verses from the Book of
Esther or the Book of Psalms, or say prayers from the siddur. In some Modern Orthodox circles, bat
mitzvah girls will read from the Torah and lead prayer services in a women's tefillah. Rabbi Moshe
Feinstein, a prominent Orthodox posek, described the bat mitzvah celebration as "meaningless", and of
no greater halakhic significance than a birthday party. However, he reluctantly permitted it in homes,
but not synagogues,[27][28] as the latter would be construed as imitating Reform and Conservative
customs; in any case, they do not have the status of seudat mitzvah.[29] Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef holds that it
is a seudat mitzvah.[30]
There were occasional attempts to recognize a girl's coming of age in eastern Europe in the 19th and
20th centuries, the former in Warsaw (1843) and the latter in Lemberg (1902). The occasion was marked
by a party without any ritual in the synagogue.[31]

According to the archivist at the Great Synagogue in Rome, the custom of a young woman being called
up in synagogue before the entire community dates back to the early years of the Roman Jewish
community approximately 2,300 years ago. The community recognized her as "being of age" and
acknowledged her in a public fashion. This would support more modern documents that record an
Orthodox Jewish Italian rite for becoming bat mitzvah (which involved an "entrance into the minyan"
ceremony, in which boys of thirteen and girls of twelve recited a blessing) since the mid-19th century.[32]
There were also bat mitzvah rituals held in the 19th century in Iraq.[33] All this may have influenced the
American rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, who held the first public celebration of a bat mitzvah in the United
States, for his daughter Judith, on March 18, 1922, at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, his
synagogue in New York City.[34][35] Judith Kaplan recited the preliminary blessing, read a portion of that
week's Torah portion in Hebrew and English, and then intoned the closing blessing.[34][36] Mordecai
Kaplan, an Orthodox rabbi who joined Conservative Judaism and then became the founder of
Reconstructionist Judaism, influenced Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism, through his
position at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. At the time, most Orthodox rabbis strongly
rejected the idea of a bat mitzvah ceremony.[37][38][28]

As the ceremony became accepted for females as well as males, many women chose to celebrate the
ceremony even though they were much older, as a way of formalizing and celebrating their place in the
adult Jewish community.[39]

Alternative ceremonies

Bar mitzvah for 1,000 immigrant boys from Russia at the Western Wall, 1995

Instead of reading from the Torah, some Humanist Jews prefer a research paper on a topic in Jewish
history to mark their coming of age.[40][41][42] Secular Jewish Sunday schools and communities—including
those affiliated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and the Arbeiter Ring (Workmen's
Circle)—encourage the youngsters to select any topic that interests them and relates to the Jewish part
of their identities.

The kibbutz movement in Israel also encouraged the celebration of the bar mitzvah. All those coming of
age in the community for that year would take on a project and research in a topic of Jewish or Zionist
interest. Today many kibbutz children are opting for a more traditional bar mitzvah celebration.[citation
needed]
Among some Jews, a man who has reached the age of 83 will celebrate a second bar mitzvah, under the
logic that in the Torah it says that a normal lifespan is 70 years, so that an 83-year-old can be considered
13 in a second lifetime.[43] This ritual is becoming more common as people live longer, healthier lives.[44]

A Bark Mitzvah is a pseudo-traditional observance and celebration of a dog's coming of age,[45][46] as in

the Jewish traditional bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah. The term has been in use since at least as early as
1997,[47] and Bark Mitzvahs are sometimes held as an adjunct to the festival of Purim.[48]

Gifts

Bar or bat mitzvah celebrations have become an occasion to give the celebrant a commemorative gift.
Traditionally, common gifts include books with religious or educational value, religious items, writing
implements, savings bonds (to be used for the child's college education), gift certificates, or money.[49]
Gifts of cash have become commonplace in recent times.[when?] As with charity and all other gifts, it has
become common to give in multiples of 18, since the gematria, or numerical equivalent of the Hebrew
word for "life", ("chai"), is the number 18. Monetary gifts in multiples of 18 are considered to be
particularly auspicious and have become common for the bar and bat mitzvah. Many b'nai mitzvah also
receive their first tallit from their parents to be used for the occasion and tefillin where this is
appropriate. Jewelry is a common gift for girls at a bat mitzvah celebration. Another gift for the bat
mitzvah girl are Shabbat candlesticks because it is the duty and honour of the woman to light the
candles.[50]
Tefillin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Tefillin

A set of tefillin includes the arm-tefillah (left)

and the head-tefillah

Halakhic texts relating to this article

 Exodus 13:9

Torah:  Deuteronomy 6:8

 Deuteronomy 11:18

Mishnah: Menachot 3:7

 Zevachim 37b

 Sanhedrin 4b
Babylonian Talmud:
 Menachot 34b

 Kiddushin 36a

Tefillin, Mezuzah, veSefer Torah ch 5-

Mishneh Torah:
6

Shulchan Aruch: Orach Chayim 25-48

Tefillin (Askhenazic: /ˈtfɪlɪn/; Israeli Hebrew: [tfiˈlin], ‫ תְּפִלִּין‬or ‫ )תְּפִילִּין‬or totafot (see the "Biblical source"
and "Etymology" sections below) or phylacteries, is a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls
of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin is worn by observant adult Jews during
weekday morning prayers. In Orthodox communities, it is only worn by men, while in non-Orthodox
communities, it may be worn by men and women.
Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form (the singular being "tefillah"), it is often used as a
singular as well.[1] The arm-tefillah (or shel yad) is placed on the upper arm, and the strap wrapped
around the arm, hand and fingers; while the head-tefillah (or shel rosh) is placed above the forehead. It
is intended to fulfill the Torah's instructions to keep as a "sign" and "remembrance" of the Exodus,
signifying that God brought the children of Israel out of Ancient Egypt.

The biblical verses often cited as referring to tefillin are obscure. Deuteronomy 11:18, for instance, does
not designate explicitly what specifically to "bind upon your arm", and the definition of "totafot
between your eyes" is not obvious. At least as early as the 1st century CE, many Jews understood the
verses literally and wore physical tefillin, as shown by archaeological finds at Qumran[2] and a reference
in the New Testament. However, Karaite Judaism understands the verses to be metaphorical.

Contents

 1 Biblical source

 2 Etymology

 3 Purpose

 4 Manufacture and contents

o 4.1 Boxes

o 4.2 Straps

o 4.3 Parchment scrolls

 4.3.1 Ordering of scrolls (Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin)

 5 Obligation and gender

 6 Use

o 6.1 Chol HaMoed

o 6.2 Laws and customs regarding putting on tefillin

 7 Biblical commandments

 8 Health

 9 See also

 10 References

 11 Further reading

 12 External links

Biblical source
"Totafot" between your eyes: Ashkenazi Head Tefillin, Jerusalem, Israel

The obligation of tefillin is mentioned four times in the Torah:

twice when recalling The Exodus from Egypt:

And it shall be for a sign for you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the law of
the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand did the LORD bring you out of Egypt.

— Exodus 13:9

And it shall be for a sign upon your hand, and as totafot between your eyes; for with a mighty hand did
the LORD bring us forth out of Egypt.

— Exodus 13:16

and twice in the shema passages:

And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes.

— Deuteronomy 6:8

You shall put these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall tie them for a sign upon
your arm, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes.

— Deuteronomy 11:18

Etymology

The ultimate origin of Hebrew "tefillin" is uncertain.[3] The word "tefillin" is not found in the Bible, which
calls them ṭoṭafot. The Septuagint renders "ṭoṭafot" ἀσάλευτον asauleton, "something immovable".[4][5]
Some believe it refers to a charm, similar to the Hebrew neṭifot, "round jewel".[4] The Talmud[6] explains
that the word ṭoṭafot is combination of two foreign words: Tot means "two" in the "Caspi" language and
Fot means "two" in the "Afriki" language,[7] hence, tot and fot means "two and two", corresponding to
the four compartments of the head-tefillin.[8] Menahem ben Saruq explains that the word is derived
from the Hebrew Ve'hateif and Tatifoo, both expressions meaning "speech", "for when one sees the
tefillin it causes him to remember and speak about the Exodus from Egypt".[9]

The first texts to use "tefillin" are the Targumim and Peshitta[4] and it is also used in subsequent
Talmudic literature, although the word "ṭoṭafah" was still current, being used with the meaning of
"frontlet".[4] "Tefillin" may have derived from the Aramaic palal, "to plead, pray", a word closely related
to the Hebrew tefillah, "prayer".[3] Jacob ben Asher (14th century) suggests that "tefillin" is derived from
the Hebrew pelilah, "justice, evidence", for tefillin act as a sign and proof of God's presence among the
Jewish people.[10]

The English word "phylactery" ("phylacteries" in the plural) derives from Ancient Greek φυλακτήριον
phylaktērion (φυλακτήρια phylaktēria in the plural), meaning "guarded post, safeguard, security", and in
later Greek, "amulet" or "charm".[11][12] The word "phylactery" occurs once (in ACC PL) in the Greek New
Testament,[13] whence it has passed into the languages of Europe.[4] Neither Aquila nor Symmachus use
"phylacteries" in their translations.[4] The choice of this particular Greek equivalent to render the Heb.
tefillin bears witness to the ancient functional interpretation of the said device as a kind of an amulet.
The other Greek words for "amulet" are periapton or periamma,[14] which literally signifies "things tied
around", analogously to the Hebrew qame‘a derived from the root ‫ קמע‬meaning "to bind".[15]

Purpose

The tefillin are to serve as a reminder of God's intervention at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.[16]
Maimonides details of the sanctity of tefillin and writes that "as long as the tefillin are on the head and
on the arm of a man, he is modest and God-fearing and will not be attracted by hilarity or idle talk; he
will have no evil thoughts, but will devote all his thoughts to truth and righteousness".[17] The Sefer ha-
Chinuch (14th century) adds that the purpose of tefillin is to help subjugate a person's worldly desires
and encourage spiritual development.[18] Joseph Caro (16th century) explains that tefillin are placed on
the arm adjacent to the heart and on the head above the brain to demonstrate that these two major
organs are willing to perform the service of God.[19]

Many have the custom to have high-quality tefillin and beautiful tefillin bags as a Hiddur Mitzvah. This
idea comes from the verse "This is my God and I will glorify Him" (Exodus 15:2). The Jewish Sages
explain: "Is it possible for a human being to add glory to his Creator? What this really means is: I shall
glorify Him in the way I perform mitzvot. I shall prepare before Him a beautiful lulav, beautiful sukkah,
beautiful fringes (Tsitsit), and beautiful phylacteries (Tefilin)."[20][21][22]

Some non-Orthodox scholars think that tefillin may play an apotropaic function. For instance, Yehudah
B. Cohn argues that the tefillin should be perceived as an invented tradition aimed at counteracting the
popularity of the Greek amulets with an "original" Jewish one.[23] Joshua Trachtenberg considered every
ornament worn on the body (whatever its declared function) as initially serving the purpose of an
amulet.[24] In addition, the early Rabbinic sources furnish more or less explicit examples of the
apotropaic qualities of tefillin. For instance, Numbers Rabbah 12:3 presents tefillin as capable of
defeating "a thousand demons" emerging on "the left side", rabbis Yohanan and Nahman used their sets
to repel the demons inhabiting privies,[25] whereas Elisha the Winged, who was scrupulous in performing
this mitzvah, was miraculously saved from the Roman persecution.[26][27] Also, tefillin are believed to
possess life-lengthening qualities,[28] and they are often listed in one breath among various items which
are considered amuletic in nature.[29][30]

Manufacture and contents

Medieval cylindrical arm-tefillin found in the Cairo genizah. However, in the earliest known
archaeological finds, all 29 tefillin cases found were square or rectangular.[31]

Leather moulded into shape for the head-tefillin

The single scroll of the arm-tefillin

The manufacturing processes of tefillin are intricate and governed by hundreds of detailed rules.[32]

Boxes

In earlier Talmudic times, tefillin were either cylindrical or cubical, but later the cylindrical form became
obsolete.[33] Nowadays the boxes should be fashioned from a single piece of animal hide and form a
base with an upper compartment to contain the parchment scrolls.[34] They are made in varying levels of
quality. The most basic form, called peshutim ("simple"), are made using several pieces of parchment to
form the inner walls of the head tefillin. The higher quality tefillin, namely dakkot ("thin"), made by
stretching a thin piece of leather, and the more durable gassot ("thick") are both fashioned from the
single piece of hide.[35]
The main box which holds the tefillin scrolls, known as ketitzah (‫)קציצה‬, is cubical. Below it is a wider
base known as the titura (‫)תיתורא‬. At the back of the titura is a passageway (ma'avarta, ‫ )מעברתא‬through
which the tefillin strap is threaded, to tie the tefillin in place.

On both sides of the head-tefillin, the Hebrew letter shin (‫ )ש‬is moulded; the shin on the wearer's left
side has four branches instead of three.

Straps

Black leather straps (retsu'ot) pass through the rear of the base and are used to secure the tefillin onto
the body.[4] The knot of the head-tefillin strap forms the letter dalet (‫ )ד‬or double dalet (known as the
square-knot) while the strap that is passed through the arm-tefillin is formed into a knot in the shape of
the letter yud (‫)י‬. Together with the shin on the head-tefillin box, these three letters spell Shaddai (‫)שדי‬,
one of the names of God.[4]

The straps must be black on their outer side, but may be any color except red on their inner side.[36] A
stringent opinion requires them to be black on the inner side too,[37] but more commonly the inner side
is left the color of leather.

The Talmud specifies that tefillin straps must be long enough to reach one's middle finger, and records
the practice of Rav Aha bar Jacob to tie and then "matleit" (plait? wind three times?) them.[38] However,
the passage leaves unclear where the measuring is done from, whether the reference is to hand- or
head-tefillin, and what exactly the meaning of "matleit" is. Combining and interpreting the Talmud's
statements, Maimonides, Tur, and Shulchan Aruch ruled that the strap of hand-tefillin must reach from
where the tefillin is placed on the arm, as far as the middle finger, where it must be wound three times
around the middle finger.[39] Rema wrote that it is not necessary to wind around the finger (rather, the
straps must belong enough that one could wind around the finger);[40] however, this leniency does not
appear in his comments to the Shulchan Aruch. In addition to the windings around the finger, the
Shulchan Aruch states that the custom is to wind six or seven times around the forearm.[41]

Parchment scrolls

The four biblical passages which refer to the tefillin, mentioned above, are written on scrolls and placed
inside the leather boxes.[4] The arm-tefillin has one large compartment, which contains all four biblical
passages written upon a single strip of parchment; the head-tefillin has four separate compartments in
each of which one scroll of parchment is placed.[4][42] This is because the verses describe the hand-tefillin
in the singular ("sign"), while in three of four verses, the head-tefillin is described in the plural
("totafot").

The passages are written by a scribe with special ink on parchment scrolls (klaf).[4] These are: "Sanctify to
me ..." (Exodus 13:1–10); "When YHWH brings you ..." (Exodus 13:11–16); "Hear, O Israel ..."
(Deuteronomy 6:4–9); and "If you observe My Commandments ..." (Deuteronomy 11:13-21).[4] The
Hebrew Ashuri script must be used and there are three main styles of lettering used: Beis Yosef –
generally used by Ashkenazim; Arizal – generally used by Hasidim; Velish – used by Sefardim.[43] The
passages contain 3,188 letters, which take a sofer (scribe) between 10–15 hours to complete.[44]

The texts have to be written with halachically acceptable (acceptable according to Jewish law) ink on
halachically acceptable parchment. There are precise rules for writing the texts and any error invalidates
it. For example, the letters of the text must be written in order - if a mistake is found later, it can't be
corrected as the replacement letter would have been written out of sequence. There are 3188 letters on
the parchments, and it can take a scribe as long as 15 hours to write a complete set. The scribe is
required to purify himself in the mikvah (ritual bath) before he starts work.

Ordering of scrolls (Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin)

Talmudic commentators debated the order in which scrolls should be inserted into the four
compartments of the head-tefillin.[4] Rashi held that the passages are placed according to the
chronological order as they appear in the Torah (Kadesh Li, Ve-haya Ki Yeviehcha, Shema, Ve-haya Im
Shemoa), while according to Rabbeinu Tam, the last two passages are switched around.[45] Of the tefillin
dating from the 1st-century CE discovered at Qumran in the Judean Desert, some were made according
to the order understood by Rashi and others in the order of Rabbeinu Tam.[45]

Nowadays, the prevailing custom is to arrange the scrolls according to Rashi's view, but some pious Jews
are also accustomed to briefly lay the tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam as well,[45] a custom of the Ari adopted by
the Hasidim.[46] The Vilna Gaon, who wore the tefillin of Rashi, rejected the stringency of also laying
Rabbeinu Tam, pointing out that there were 64 possible arrangements of the tefillin scrolls, and it would
not be practical to put on 64 different sets of tefillin to account for all possibilities.[47] The Shulchan
Aruch rules that only "one who is known and famous for his piety" should put on Rabbeinu Tam
tefillin,[48] while the Mishnah Brurah explains that if any other person puts on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, it is
a sign of arrogance.[49]

The placement of the protrusion of a tuft of the sinew (se'ar eigel) identifies as to which opinion the
tefillin were written.[50]

Obligation and gender

A Jewish woman praying with a tallit and tefillin

The duty of laying tefillin rests upon Jews after the age of thirteen years.[4] Although women were
traditionally exempt from the obligation, some early codifiers allowed them to do so.[51] Rema (Rav
Moses Isserles, 16th century), a major codifier of the Jewish law, strongly discourages it.[52]
Historically, the mitzvah of tefillin was not performed by women, but the ritual was apparently kept by
some women in medieval France and Germany.[53] It has been claimed Rashi's daughters and the wife of
Chaim ibn Attar wore tefillin,[54] but there is no historical evidence for these claims.[55] However, the
female Hasidic Rebbe known as Maiden of Ludmir did wear tefillin.[55]

In modern times, people of both genders choose to wear tefillin, and are encouraged to do so by
some.[56] In 2018, a group of students from Hebrew College, a non-denominational rabbinical school in
Boston, created a series of YouTube videos to help people of both genders learn how to wrap tefillin.[57]
Within the Orthodox movement, it remains a male-only obligation, but in egalitarian movements,
women may observe this practice. Women affiliated with the Conservative movement wrap tefillin.[58]
Since 2013, SAR High School in Riverdale, New York, has allowed girls to wrap tefillin during morning
prayer; it is probably the first Modern Orthodox high school in the U.S. to do so.[59] The wearing of
tefillin by members of Women of the Wall at the Western Wall caused consternation from the rabbi in
charge of the site until a Jerusalem District Court judge ruled in 2013 that doing so was not a violation of
"local custom".[60]

A mourner during the first day of his mourning period is exempt from wrapping tefillin as is a
bridegroom on his wedding-day.[4] A sufferer from stomach-trouble or one who is otherwise in pain and
cannot concentrate his mind is also exempt.[4] One who is engaged in the study of the Law and scribes of
and dealers in tefillin and mezuzahs while engaged in their work if it cannot be postponed, are also free
from this obligation.[4]

The codes view the commandment of tefillin as important, and call those who neglect to observe it
"transgressors".[61] Maimonides counts the commandment of laying the arm-tefillin and head-tefillin as
two separate positive mitzvot.[17] The Talmud cites Rav Sheshet, who said that by neglecting the precept,
one transgresses eight positive commandments.[62] A report of widespread laxity in its observance is
reported by Moses of Coucy in 13th-century Spain. It may have arisen from the fear of persecution,
similar to what had occurred to the Jews living in the Land of Israel under Roman rule in the second
century.[16]

Use

Arm-tefillin with ‫( ש‬shin) pattern, according to one of the Ashkenazi opinions

Originally tefillin were worn all day, but not during the night. Nowadays the prevailing custom is to wear
them only during the weekday morning service,[63] although some individuals wear them at other times
during the day as well.
Tefillin are not donned on Shabbat and the major festivals because these holy days are themselves
considered "signs" which render the need of the "sign" of tefillin superfluous.

On the fast day of Tisha B'Av, tefillin are not worn in the morning, as tefillin are considered an
"adornment", symbols of beauty, which is deemed inappropriate for a day of mourning. They are worn
instead at the afternoon Mincha service.[64] There are those however who have a custom (Jews from
Aleppo, Syria) on Tisha B'Av to privately put on tefillin at home and pray privately, say the Amidah and
take off the tefillin and go to synagogue to finish the prayers.[citation needed]

Chol HaMoed

See also: Chol HaMoed § Tefillin

On Chol HaMoed (intermediate days) of Pesach and Sukkot, there is a great debate among the early
halachic authorities as to whether tefillin should be worn or not. Those who forbid it consider the "sign"
of intermediate days as having the same status as the festival itself, making the ritual of tefillin
redundant.[65] Others argue and hold that Chol HaMoed does not constitute a "sign" in which case tefillin
must be laid.[65] Three customs evolved resulting from the dispute:

 To refrain from wearing tefillin: This ruling of the Shulchan Aruch is based on kabbalah and the
Zohar which strongly advocate refraining from laying tefillin on Chol HaMoed. This position is
maintained by Sephardic Jews and is also the opinion of the Vilna Gaon whose ruling has been
universally accepted in Israel.[65]

 To wear tefillin without reciting the blessings: This is the opinion of, among others, Rabbi Jacob
ben Asher (Ba'al ha-Turim), Rabbi Moses of Coucy (Semag) and Rabbi David HaLevi Segal (Turei
Zahav). The advantage of this compromise is that one avoids the transgressions of either not
donning tefillin or making a blessing in vain.[65]

 To wear tefillin and recite the blessings in an undertone: This opinion, based on Maimonides,[failed
verification] is the ruling of Moses Isserles who writes that this is the universally accepted practice

among Ashkenazic Jews.[65] However it may have been in his time, this is no longer universally
the case, since many Ashkenazim refrain from wearing it or wear it without a blessing during
Chol HaMoed.

In light of the conflicting opinions, the Mishna Berura (20th-century) recommends Ashkenazim make the
following stipulation before donning tefillin: "If I am obligated to don tefillin I intend to fulfill my
obligation and if I am not obligated to don tefillin, my doing so should not be considered as fulfilling any
obligation" and that the blessing not be recited.[66]

Laws and customs regarding putting on tefillin

See also: List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Tefillin

IDF soldier Asael Lubotzky prays with tefillin.

Ashkenazi practice is to put on and remove the arm tefillin while standing in accordance to the Shulchan
Aruch, while most Sephardim do so while sitting in accordance with the Ari. All, however, put on and
remove the head tefillin while standing.[67] Halacha forbids speaking or being distracted while putting on
the tefillin.[67] An Ashkenazi says two blessings when laying tefillin, the first before he ties the arm-
tefillin: ...lehani'ach tefillin ("to bind tefillin"), and the second after placing the head tefillin: ...al mitzvat
tefillin ("as to the commandment of tefillin"); thereafter, he tightens the head straps and says "Baruch
Shem Kovod..." ("blessed be the holy name").[68] The Sephardic custom is that no blessing is said for the
head-tefillin, the first blessing sufficing for both.[68] Sephardim and many members of the Chabad
Orthodox movement only recite the blessing on the head-tefillah if they spoke about something not
related to tefillin since reciting the blessing on the arm-tefillah.

The arm-tefillin is laid on the inner side of the bare left arm, right arm if one is left handed, two finger
breadths above the elbow, so that when the arm is bent the tefillin faces towards the heart.[4] The arm-
tefillin is tightened with the thumb, the blessing is said, and the strap is immediately wrapped around
the upper arm in the opposite direction it came from in order to keep the knot tight without having to
hold it. Some wrap it around the upper arm for less than a full revolution (the bare minimum to keep the
knot tight) and then wrap it around the forearm seven times, while others wrap it around the upper arm
an additional time before wrapping it around the forearm. Many Ashkenazim wear the knot to be
tightened (not to be confused with the knot on the base which is permanently tied and always worn on
the inside, facing the heart) on the inside and wrap inward, while Nusach Sephard Ashkenazim and all
Sephardim wear it on the outside and wrap outward.[4][citation needed]

Then the head-tefillin is placed on the middle of the head just above the forehead, so that no part rests
below the hairline. A bald or partially bald person's original hairline is used.[69] The knot of the head-
tefillin sits at the back of the head, upon the part of the occipital bone that protrudes just above the
nape. The two straps of the head-tefillin are brought in front of the shoulders, with their blackened side
facing outwards.[4] Now the remainder of the arm-tefillin straps are wound three times around the
middle finger and around the hand to form the shape of the Hebrew letter of either a shin (‫ )ש‬according
to Ashkenazim, or a dalet (‫ )ד‬according to Sephardim. There are various customs regarding winding the
strap on the arm and hand.[68] In fact, the arm strap is looped for counter-clockwise wrapping with
Ashkenazi tefillin while it is knotted for clockwise wrapping with Sephardic and Hasidic tefillin. On
removing the tefillin, the steps are reversed.[4]

Earlier, Yemenite Jews' custom was to put on arm-Tefillah and wind forearm with strap, making knot on
wrist not winding a finger, and then put on head-Tefillah all made in sitting position. Later, Yemenite
Jews followed by Shulchan Aruch and put on arm-Tefillah, making seven windings on forearm and three
on a finger, and then put on head-Tefillah. Because according to the Shulchan Aruch head-Tefillah and
arm-Tefillah are two different commandments, if there is not any Tefillah, one can wear available
alone.[70]

German Jews also did not tie a finger earlier. But later they put on arm-Tefillah with a knot on biceps
while standing, then put on head-Tefillah, and after that they wind seven wraps around forearm
(counting by the seven Hebrew words of Psalms 145:16), and three wraps around a finger.

Tefillin wrapping custom of the Rodrigues-Pereira family

The newest is Kabbalistic custom of Arizal, to put on arm-Tefillah and wind seven wraps on forearm
while sitting, then head-Tefillah standing, after that three wraps around a finger. That is modern day
common custom.[citation needed]

Some Western Sephardic families such as the Rodrigues-Pereira family have developed a personalized
family wrapping method.[71]

Biblical commandments

Location Passage

Exodus 13:1–10: And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Sanctify to Me all the first-born, whatever
Kadesh Li— opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal, it is Mine.'
the duty of And Moses said to the people: 'Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt,
the Jewish out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from
people this place; no leavened bread shall be eaten. This day you go forth in the Spring month.
to remember And it shall be when the LORD shall bring you into the land of the Canaanite, and the
the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore unto your
redemption fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service
from in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and the seventh day shall be
Egyptian a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and
bondage. no leavened bread shall be seen with you, neither shall there be leaven seen with you,
in all your borders. And so shall you tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of
that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a
sign for you upon your hand, and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of
the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand has the LORD brought you out
of Egypt. You shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore unto you and to
Exodus 13:11– your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the LORD all that opens the
16: womb; every firstborn animal shall be the LORD'S. Every firstborn donkey you shall
Ve-haya Ki redeem with a sheep, and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and
Yeviakha— all the first-born of man among your sons shall you redeem. And when your son asks
the obligation you in time to come, saying: What is this? say to him: By strength of hand the LORD
of every Jew to bring us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage; and when Pharaoh found it hard
inform his or her to let us go the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of
children man, and the first-born of animals; therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open
on these the womb, and redeem all my first-born sons. And it shall be for a sign upon your
matters. hand, and as "totafot" between your eyes; for by strength of hand the LORD brought
us forth out of Egypt.

Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your
Deuteronomy
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these
6:4–9:
words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and teach them
Shema—
thoroughly to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when
pronouncing the
you walk on the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up. And tie them for
Unity of the
a sign upon your hand, and let them be "totafot" between your eyes. And write them
One God.
on the door-posts of your house and on your gates.

If you listen to My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your
Deuteronomy
God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give the rain
11:13–21:
of your land in its season, the early and the late rain, and you will gather in your grain,
Ve-haya Im
your wine, and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will
Shamoa—
eat and be satisfied. Take care for yourselves, lest your heart be seduced, and you turn
God's assurance
aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; and the anger of the LORD be lit
of
against you, and He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain, and the ground
reward for
not yield her fruit; and you be quickly lost from off the good land which the LORD gives
observance
you. Put these words of Mine on your heart and on your soul; tie them as a sign on
of the Torah's
your hand, and they shall be "totafot" between your eyes. Teach them to your
precepts and
children, to speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the road,
warning
and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And write them on the door-posts of
of retribution
your house, and upon your gates; so that your days, and those of your children, may
for
be multiplied upon the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give them, as
disobedience.
the days of the heavens above the earth.

Health
A 2018 study, performed on 20 Jewish men around Cincinnati, suggested that tight wrapping of the arm-
tefillin could have a positive effect regarding heart-disease.[72][73]
Mezuzah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Mezuzah

Historic Ashkenazi mezuzah at the entrance to the

monumental POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
(2014) in Warsaw, containing the Jewish parchment of the
mezuzah

Halakhic texts relating to this article

Deuteronomy 6:9 and

Torah:
Deuteronomy 11:20

Mishnah: Menachot 3:7

Shabbat 32a, Yoma 11a, Menachot

Babylonian Talmud:
33a,

Tefillin, Mezuzah, veSefer Torah

Mishneh Torah:
ch. 5–6

Shulchan Aruch: Yoreh De'ah 285–291

Ashkenazi mezuzah, as accepted in Rabbinical Judaism; the case is tilted and features the Hebrew letter
‫( ש‬Shin), as is commonplace in such.

A Sephardic mezuzah from Greece, as accepted in Rabbinical Judaism; the mezuzah case is vertical and
features the Hebrew letter ‫( ש‬Shin)

A mezuzah (Hebrew: ‫" מְזוּזָה‬doorpost"; plural: ‫ מְזוּזוֹת‬mezuzot) is a piece of parchment called a klaf
contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy
6:4–9 and 11:13–21[1]). These verses consist of the Jewish prayer Shema Yisrael, beginning with the
phrase: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord (is) our God, the Lord is One". In mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, a
mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to
"write the words of God on the gates and doorposts of your house" (Deuteronomy 6:9). Some interpret
Jewish law to require a mezuzah in every doorway in the home[2] except bathrooms (which are not a
living space), laundry rooms and closets, if they are too small to qualify as rooms.[3] The klaf parchment
is prepared by a qualified scribe ("sofer stam") who has undergone training, both in studying the
relevant religious laws, and in the more practical parts i.e. carving the quill and practising writing. The
verses are written in black indelible ink with a special quill pen made either from a feather or, in what
are now rare cases, a reed. The parchment is then rolled up and placed inside the case.

Contents

 1 Karaite and Samaritan mezuzah

 2 Affixing the mezuzah

 3 Checking the parchment

 4 Mezuzah cases

 5 Additional inscriptions

 6 Amuletic usage of mezuzah

 7 Legal battles in the U.S.

o 7.1 Illinois

o 7.2 Florida

o 7.3 Texas

o 7.4 Nationwide

 8 References

 9 Bibliography

 10 External links

Karaite and Samaritan mezuzah

Karaite Mezuzah in the entrance to the World Karaite Judaism Center, Ramla, Israel. It depicts the first
words of each of the Ten Commandments.

This article deals mainly with the mezuzah as it is used in Rabbinic Judaism. Karaite Judaism and
Samaritanism have their own distinct traditions.

In Karaite Judaism the deuteronomic verse "And you shall write them on the doorposts of your houses
and your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:9; 11:20) is interpreted to be a metaphor and not as referring to the
Rabbanite mezuzah.[4] Thus Karaites do not traditionally use mezuzot, but put up a little plaque in the
shape of the two Tables of the Law with the Ten Commandments. In Israel, where they might try not to
make other Jews feel uncomfortable, many Karaites make an exception and place a mezuzah on their
doorpost as well.[5][6] The Karaite version of the mezuzah is fixed to the doorways of public buildings and
sometimes to private buildings, too.[6]

Samaritan Mezuzah in Israel, written exposed, in Samaritan Hebrew. This one reads, "Blessed is the One
who said: I will look with favor upon you, and make you fertile and multiply you; and I will maintain My
covenant with you. (Leviticus 26:9) The LORD will open for you His bounteous store, the heavens, to
provide rain for your land in season and to bless all your undertakings. (Deuteronomy 28:12)"

The Samaritans interpret the deuteronomic commandment to mean displaying any select text from the
Samaritan version of the five Books of Moses.[7] This can contain a blessing or a particularly holy or
uplifting message.[8] In the past they placed a stone plaque inscribed with the Ten Commandments
above the house door, some examples dating back to the Byzantine (4th–7th century) and Early Muslim
(7th–11th century) periods being now shown in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.[6][9][10] Nowadays a
Samaritan mezuzah is usually made of either marble, a wooden plate, or a sheet of parchment or high
quality paper, on which they inscribe select verses from the Samaritan Torah. This they place either
above the house door, or inside the house, in the entrance hall or at a prominent place on a large
wall.[7][8][11] These mezuzot are found in every Samaritan household as well as in the synagogue.[11] Today
some Samaritans would also use a Jewish-style mezuzah case and place inside it a small written
Samaritan scroll,[7] i.e. a text from the Samaritan Torah, written in the Samaritan alphabet. The more
such mezuzot there are in the house, the better it is considered to be.[8]

Affixing the mezuzah

According to halakha, the mezuzah should be placed on the right side of the door or doorpost, in the
upper third of the doorpost (i.e., approximately shoulder height),[12] within approximately 3 inches
(8 cm) of the doorway opening.[citation needed] Care should be taken to not tear or damage the parchment or
the wording on it, as this will invalidate the mezuzah, which is considered Torah. Generally, halakha
requires Jews living in the Diaspora (i.e., outside of the Land of Israel) to affix a mezuzot within 30 days
of moving into a rented house or apartment. For a purchased home or apartment in the Diaspora, or a
residence in Israel (owned or rented), the mezuzah is affixed immediately upon moving in. The reason
for this difference is that there is an assumption that when a Jew lives in Israel, Israel shall remain
his/her permanent residence, whereas a home in the diaspora is temporary. Mezuzot are very special
objects and must be taken care of carefully and according to Jewish laws and traditions.

Mezuzah affixed to a door frame on South Street in Philadelphia.

Where the doorway is wide enough, many Ashkenazi Jews tilt the mezuzah so that the top slants toward
the room into which the door opens. This is done to accommodate the variant opinions of Rashi and of
his grandson, Rabbeinu Tam, as to whether it should be placed vertically (Rashi) or horizontally
(Rabbeinu Tam),[13] and also to imply that God and the Torah (which the mezuzah symbolizes) are
entering the room. The compromise solution was suggested by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher.[13]

Most Sephardic, Mizrahi and other non-Ashkenazi Jews affix the mezuzah vertically,[14] though Spanish
and Portuguese Jews living in countries where the majority of Jews are Ashkenazim usually place it
slanting.

The procedure is to hold the mezuzah against the spot upon which it will be affixed, then recite a
blessing:

‫ אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשַׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לִקְבּוֹעַ מְזוּזָה‬,‫בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם‬
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‘olam, asher qideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu liqboa‘ mezuzah.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot, and
commanded us to affix a mezuzah.

Any Jew can recite the blessing, provided he or she is old enough to understand the significance of the
mitzvah. After the blessing, the mezuzah is attached.

Whenever passing through the doorway, many people touch a finger to the mezuzah as a way of
showing respect to God in a simpler fashion than saying the prayer. Many people also kiss their finger
before touching it to the mezuzah.

When affixing several mezuzot, it is sufficient to recite the blessing once, before affixing the first one.

Checking the parchment

Many observant Jews from all Jewish denominations have a qualified scribe check the mezuzot
parchments for defects (such as small tears or faded lettering) at least twice every seven years.[15][16] This
job can be done by a sofer (scribe) or by anyone with similar training. A sofer also can make new
mezuzot parchments which are in accordance with Jewish Law.

Mezuzah cases

The commandment to affix a mezuzah is widely followed in the Jewish world, even by Jews who are not
religiously observant. While the important part of the mezuzah is the klaf, or the parchment, and not
the case itself, designing and producing mezuzah cases has been elevated to an art form over the ages.
Mezuzah cases are produced from a wide variety of materials, from silver and precious metals, to wood,
stone, ceramics, pewter, and even polymer clay. Some dealers of mezuzah cases will provide or offer for
sale a copy of the text that has been photocopied onto paper; this is not a kosher (valid) mezuzah,[17]
which must be handwritten onto a piece of parchment by a qualified scribe.

Additional inscriptions

It is very customary to write two inscriptions on the back of the parchment:

 the Hebrew word ‫( שדי‬Shaddai)

 the phrase "‫"כוזו במוכסז כוזו‬

Clear mezuzah case in Jerusalem, Israel

Shaddai, ["Almighty"] one of the biblical names of God, also serves here as an acronym for Shomer
Daltot Yisrael, "Guardian of Israel's doors". Many mezuzah cases are also marked with the Hebrew letter
‫( ש‬Shin), for Shaddai.

"‫ "כוזו במוכסז כוזו‬is a Caesar cipher—a one-letter shift—of the third, fourth, and fifth words of the Shema,
"Adonai, Eloheinu, Adonai", "The Lord, our God, the Lord"; it is written on the back of the case, opposite
the corresponding words on the front.[18] This inscription dates from the 11th century and is found
among the Hasidei Ashkenaz (medieval German Jewish mystics).

According to the Sephardic custom (minhag), the phrase "‫ "כוזו במוכסז כוזו‬is prohibited, and only the
Hebrew word ‫( שדי‬Shaddai) is to be written on the back of the mezuzah. This follows the Shulchan Aruch
and the writings of the Rambam. The Ashkenazi custom of writing both phrases, however, was
supported in the writings of the Remo. (Yoreh De'ah 288:15)

In this regard it is worthwhile to refer to the often cited passage from Rambam's Mishneh Torah which
states:

It is a common custom to write [God's name,] Shaddai, on the outside of a mezuzah opposite the empty
space left between the two passages. There is no difficulty in this, since [the addition is made] outside.
Those, however, who write the names of angels, other sacred names, verses, or forms, on the inside [of a
mezuzah] are among those who do not have a portion in the world to come. Not only do these fools
nullify the mitzvah, but furthermore, they make from a great mitzvah [which reflects] the unity of the
name of the Holy One, blessed be He, the love of Him, and the service of Him, a talisman for their own
benefit. They, in their foolish conception, think that this will help them regarding the vanities of the
world.[19]

Amuletic usage of mezuzah

The culture-comparative analysis suggests that the objects placed on domestic thresholds often bear the
function of an amulet repelling the broadly understood evil.[20] In fact, the early Rabbinic sources
explicitly witness the belief in the anti-demonic function of mezuzah. This is the case in e.g. JT Megillah
4:12; BT Bava Metziya 102a; BT Pesahim 113b.[21] The further analysis of the biblical and rabbinic texts
(inter alia Deuteronomy 6, 11, Exodus 12, Mekhilta de-rabbi Ishmael 7,12 and BT Menahot 33b, 43b)
shows that mezuzah is construed as a device protecting against the divine anger.[22]

The belief in the protective power of mezuzah is prevalent in the modern times as well. In the 1970s
after a series of terrorist attacks in Ma'a lot, the representatives of Chabad-Lubavitch started the
campaign for the systematic checking of mezuzahs. The general assumption underlying the action was
that adhering to the mitzvot would guarantee personal safety.[23]

Finally, according to various pieces of sociological research, approximately three-quarter of adults in

Israel believe that the mezuzah literally guards their houses.[24]

Legal battles in the U.S.

The Jewish practice of affixing a mezuzah to the entranceway of a residential unit[25] has been rarely
challenged in the United States or Canada,[26] and until recently there was no case law precedent on the
subject.
Illinois

A metal mezuzah case.

In Chicago in 2001, the condominium association at the 378-unit Shoreline Towers adopted a rule
banning "mats, boots, shoes, carts or objects of any sort… outside unit entrance doors",[27] which by
board vote in 2004 was interpreted to be absolute.[28] Relying on the association rule, Shoreline Towers
management removed the hallway mezuzot of condominium tenants, resulting in letters from Jewish
groups which unsuccessfully protested the rule. Complaints by Shoreline Towers tenants were
subsequently filed with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, Illinois Attorney General, and U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, alleging housing discrimination on the basis of
religion[29] and seeking damages. Meanwhile, a newspaper report indicated that Shoreline Towers was
not the sole condominium association in Chicago with such a restriction, although one of them soon
agreed to modify its rule.[30]

On reading a news report of the mezuzah dispute at Shoreline Towers, Chicago alderman Burton
Natarus, like other Jewish observers of the development,[31] was upset by the ban. He drafted an
amendment to the city's municipal code which made it illegal for a renter or owner of an apartment,
house, or condo to be prohibited from "placing or affixing a religious sign, symbol or relic on the door,
door post or entrance."[32] Although there was opposition to such a move,[33] it became law in Chicago
that December.[34] The first such legislation in North America, it included a maximum $500 fine for its
violation.
Notwithstanding this legislation, court action continued concerning separate complaints against
Shoreline Towers for its rule affecting mezuzot. In 2006, a federal court judge determined that the
condominium association's rule did not violate the Federal Fair Housing Act;[35] the district court upheld
the opinion on appeal in 2008;[36] in 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago
reversed the 2008 decision,[37] and the case proceeded. Meanwhile, during the dispute, records of the
Chicago Jewish Star (which had been reporting on the case) were unsuccessfully subpoenaed,[38] and for
the first time Illinois’ anti-SLAPP legislation was applied.[39] In 2011, a confidential settlement to the
Shoreline Towers disputes was finally achieved.[40]

In 2006, a more narrowly focused amendment to the state's Condominium Property Act was initiated by
Illinois Senator Ira Silverstein, the first such state law.[41]

Florida

In 2006, a woman in a 16-story condo building in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was instructed to remove the
mezuzah from her hallway unit and threatened with a fine. After a lengthy legal battle, the condo
association was found guilty of discrimination. In 2008, House Bill 995, an amendment to the Florida
Condominium Act modeled on the Illinois state legislation, became law.[42]

Texas

In Texas in 2007, a couple living in the Madison Park area of Houston was instructed to "remove the
item attached to your door frame" to avoid violating association rules.[43] A legal battle ensued, during
which a U.S. District Court judge ruled in 2008 on behalf of the condo association. Subsequently, the
couple turned to Texas House of Representatives member Garnet F. Coleman. His bill to protect such
religious displays, as introduced in 2009, was not adopted, but in June 2011 a slightly revised version
(HB1278) was signed into law by Texas Governor Rick Perry.[44]

Nationwide

A bill designed to prevent mezuzah bans nationwide was proposed in 2008 (H.R. 6932) by U.S.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler. It never became law.[45]
Menorah (Temple)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search

A reconstruction of the Menorah of the Temple created by the Temple Institute

The menorah (/məˈnɔːrə/; Hebrew: ‫[ מְנוֹרָה‬menoˈʁa]) is described in the Bible as the seven-lamp (six
branches) ancient Hebrew lampstand made of pure gold and used in the portable sanctuary set up by
Moses in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. Fresh olive oil of the purest quality was
burned daily to light its lamps. The menorah has been a symbol of Judaism since ancient times and is the
emblem on the coat of arms of the modern state of Israel.

Contents

 1 Construction

 2 Use

 3 History and fate

o 3.1 Tabernacle

o 3.2 Solomon's temple

o 3.3 Second Temple (post-Exile)

o 3.4 Herod's temple

 o 3.5 Rome (70-455 CE)

o 3.6 After the 455 Sack of Rome

 4 Symbolism

o 4.1 Judaism

o 4.2 Christianity

 5 Hanukkah menorah

 6 Modern Jewish use

o 6.1 Temple Institute reconstruction

 7 In other cultures

 8 In popular culture

 9 Gallery

 10 See also

 11 References

 12 Further reading

 13 External links

Construction

Fray Juan Ricci (1600–1681), sketch of the menorah as described in Exodus, undated. Biblioteca Statale
del Monumento Nazionale di Monte Cassino, cod. 469, fol. 199v
Maimonides' drawing of the menorah.

The Hebrew Bible states that God revealed the design for the menorah to Moses and describes the
construction of the menorah as follows (Exodus 25:31–40):
31Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and
blossoms of one piece with them. 32Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three
on one side and three on the other. 33Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms
are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the
lampstand. 34And on the lampstand are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and
blossoms. 35One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second
bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. 36The buds and
branches shall be all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
37Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. 38Its wick
trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. 39A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all
these accessories. 40See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.[1]

Numbers, chapter 8, adds that the seven lamps are to give light in front of the lampstand and reiterates
that the lampstand was made in accordance with the pattern shown to Moses on the mountain.[2]

In Jewish oral tradition, the menorah stood 18 handbreadths/palms (three common cubits) high, or
approximately 1.62 metres (5.3 ft).[3] Although the menorah was placed in the antechamber of the
Temple sanctuary, over against its southernmost wall, the Talmud (Menahot 98b) brings down a dispute
between two scholars on whether or not the menorah was situated north to south, or east to west. The
historian Josephus, who witnessed the Temple's destruction, says that the menorah was actually
situated obliquely, to the east and south.[4]

The branches are often artistically depicted as semicircular, but Rashi,[5] (according to some
contemporary readings) and Maimonides (according to his son Avraham),[6] held that they were
straight;[7] all other Jewish authorities, both classical (e.g. Philo and Josephus) and medieval (e.g. Ibn
Ezra) who express an opinion on the subject state that the arms were round.[8] Archaeological evidence,
including depictions by artists who had seen the menorah, indicates that they were not straight, but
show them as rounded, either semicircular or elliptical.[9][10]
The most famous preserved representation[11] of the menorah of the Temple was depicted in a frieze on
the Arch of Titus, commemorating his triumphal parade in Rome following the destruction of Jerusalem
in the year 70 CE. In that frieze, the menorah is shown resting upon a hexagonal base, which in turn
rests upon a slightly larger but concentric and identically shaped base; a stepwise appearance on all
sides is thus produced. Each facet of the hexagonal base was made with two vertical stiles and two
horizontal rails, a top rail and a bottom rail, resembling a protruding frame set against a sunken panel.
These panels have some relief design set or sculpted within them. The panels depict the Ziz and the
Leviathan from Jewish mythology.

Stone with Menorah that was found in the Archaeological site Magdala.

In 2009, the ruins of a synagogue with pottery dating from before the destruction of the Second Temple
were discovered under land in Magdala owned by the Legionaries of Christ, who had intended to
construct a center for women's studies.[12] Inside that synagogue's ruins was discovered a rectangular
stone, which had on its surface, among other ornate carvings, a depiction of the seven-lamp menorah
differing markedly from the depiction on the Arch of Titus, which could possibly have been carved by an
eyewitness to the actual menorah present at the time in the Temple at Jerusalem. This menorah has
arms which are polygonal, not rounded, and the base is not graduated but triangular. It is notable,
however, that this artifact was found a significant distance from Jerusalem and the Arch of Titus has
often been interpreted as an eyewitness account of the original menorah being looted from the temple
in Jerusalem.

Representations of the seven lamp artifact have been found on tombs and monuments dating from the
1st century as a frequently used symbol of Judaism and the Jewish people.[13]

It has been noted that the shape of the menorah bears a certain resemblance to that of the plant Salvia
palaestina.[14]
Illustration of Menorah published in Acta Eruditorum, 1709

Contrary to some modern designs, the ancient menorah burned oil and did not contain anything
resembling candles, which were unknown in the Middle East until about 400 CE.

Use

The lamps of the menorah were lit daily from fresh, consecrated olive oil and burned from evening until
morning, according to Exodus 27:21.

The Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus states that three of the seven lamps were allowed to burn
during the day also;[15] however, according to one opinion in the Talmud, only the center lamp was left
burning all day, into which as much oil was put as into the others.[16] Although all the other lights were
extinguished, that light continued burning oil, in spite of the fact that it had been kindled first. This
miracle, according to the Talmud, was taken as a sign that the Shechinah rested among Israel.[17] It was
called the ner hama'aravi (Western lamp) because of the direction of its wick. This lamp was also
referred to as the ner Elohim (lamp of God), mentioned in I Samuel 3:3.[13] According to the Talmud, the
miracle of the ner hama'aravi ended after the High Priesthood of Simon the Just in the 3rd or 4th
century BCE.[18]

History and fate

Depiction of the Menorah on a modern replica of the Arch of Titus in Rome, displayed in the Beit
Hatfutsot: Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

Tabernacle

The original menorah was made for the Tabernacle, and the Bible records it as being present until the
Israelites crossed the Jordan river. When the Tabernacle tent was pitched in Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), it is
assumed that the menorah was also present. However, no mention is made of it during the years that
the Ark of the Covenant was moved in the times of Samuel and Saul.[citation needed]

Solomon's temple

There is no further mention of the menorah in Solomon's temple, except in 1 Kings 7:49, 1 Chronicles
28:15 and 2 Chronicles 4:7, which notes that he created ten lampstands. The weight of the lampstands
forms part of the detailed instructions given to Solomon by David.

They are recorded as being taken away to Babylon by the invading armies under the general Nebuzar-
Adan some centuries later (Jeremiah 52:19).

Second Temple (post-Exile)

During the restoration of the Temple worship after the captivity in Babylon, no mention is made of the
return of the menorah but only of "vessels" (Ezra 1:9-10). Since the new Temple, known as the Second
Temple, was an enclosed place with no natural light, some means of illumination must have
existed.[citation needed]

The Book of Maccabees records that Antiochus Epiphanes took away the lampstands (plural) when he
invaded and robbed the Temple (1 Maccabees 1:21). The later record of the making of "new holy
vessels" may refer to the manufacture of new lampstands (1 Maccabees 4:49). There is no biblical
mention of the fate of the menorah.[citation needed]

Herod's temple

Herod the Great had the Second Temple remodeled while not disrupting the temple service.

Rome (70-455 CE)

Model of the Templum Pacis

The menorah from the Second Temple was carried to Rome after the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in
70 AD during the First Jewish–Roman War. The fate of the menorah used in the Second Temple is
recorded by Josephus, who states that it was brought to Rome and carried along during the triumph of
Vespasian and Titus. The bas relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome depicts a scene of Roman soldiers
carrying away the spoils of the Second Temple, in particular, the seven-branched menorah, or
candelabrum. For centuries, the Menorah was displayed as a war trophy at the Temple of Peace in
Rome, a Roman temple paid for with spoils taken from the conquered city of Jerusalem. It was still there
when the city was conquered by Vandals in 455.[19]

After the 455 Sack of Rome

Painting on Genseric sacking Rome by Karl Bryullov (1833-1836), depicting the Menorah taken away by
the Vandals.

Its fate during and after the 455 Sack of Rome is unknown. While it may have been melted down or
broken into chunks of gold by the conquerors, it has been variously claimed that it was destroyed in a
fire; that it was taken to Carthage, and then to the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire at
Constantinople, or that it sank in a shipwreck. Another persistent rumor is that the Vatican has kept it
hidden for centuries. Some claim that it has been kept in Vatican City, others that it is in the cellars of
the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.[19]

Most likely, the menorah was looted by the Vandals in the sacking of Rome in 455 CE, and taken to their
capital, Carthage.[20] The Byzantine army under General Belisarius might have removed it in 533 and
brought it to Constantinople. According to Procopius, it was carried through the streets of
Constantinople during Belisarius' triumphal procession.[21] Procopius adds that the object was later sent
back to Jerusalem where there is no record of it.[22] It could have been destroyed when Jerusalem was
pillaged by the Persians in 614.[citation needed]
In the Avot of Rabbi Natan, one of the minor tractates printed with the Babylonian Talmud, there is a
listing of Jewish treasures, which according to Jewish oral tradition are still in Rome, as they have been
for centuries.

The objects that were crafted, and then hidden away are these: the tent of meeting and the vessels
contained therein, the ark and the broken tablets, the container of manna, and the flask of annointing
oil, the stick of Aaron and its almonds and flowers, the priestly garments, and the garments of the
annointed [high] priest.

But, the spice-grinder of the family of Avtinas [used to make the unique incense in the Temple], the
[golden] table [of the showbread], the menorah, the curtain [that partitioned the holy from the holy-of-
holies], and the head-plate are still sitting in Rome.[23]

Symbolism

Judaism

The menorah symbolized the ideal of universal enlightenment.[24] The idea that the Menorah symbolizes
wisdom is noted in the Talmud, for example, in the following: "Rabbi Isaac said: He who desires to
become wise should incline to the south [when praying]. The symbol [by which to remember this] is
that… the Menorah was on the southern side [of the Temple]."[25]

The seven lamps allude to the branches of human knowledge, represented by the six lamps inclined
inwards towards, and symbolically guided by, the light of God represented by the central lamp. The
menorah also symbolizes the creation in seven days, with the center light representing the Sabbath.[13]

Christianity

Reverse of 1590 coin in honor of Urban VII with menorah and the legend
SIC•LUCEAT•LUX•VESTRA
(Let your light so shine – Matt. 5:16)
The giant menorah from 14. Century in abbatial Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Brno

The New Testament Book of Revelation refers to a mystery of seven golden lampstands representing
seven churches [26]. Interpretations of what these churches refer to include: 1) churches of seven specific
cities, 2) all churches of all generations, 3) historical phases of the church history, and 4) an abstract
metaphor only to be understood by individual believers. [27]. One interpretation of the lampstands
representing seven churches is that each represents a church of Asia to which the revelation was sent
(Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea), with "one like a Son of Man"
in their midst.[citation needed]

According to Clement of Alexandria and Philo Judaeus, the seven lamps of the golden menorah
represented the seven classical planets in this order: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn.[28]

It is also said to symbolize the burning bush as seen by Moses on Mount Horeb (Exodus 3).[29]

Kevin Conner has noted of the original menorah, described in Exodus 25, that each of the six tributary
branches coming out of the main shaft was decorated with three sets of "cups... shaped like almond
blossoms... a bulb and a flower..." (Exodus 25:33, NASB).[30] This would create three sets of three units
on each branch, a total of nine units per branch. The main shaft, however, had four sets of blossoms,
bulbs and flowers, making a total of twelve units on the shaft (Exodus 25:34). This would create a total
of 66 units, which Conner claims is a picture of the Protestant canon of scripture (containing 66 books).
Moreover, Conner notes that the total decorative units on the shaft and three branches equate to 39
(the number of Old Testament books within Protestant versions of the Bible); and the units on the
remaining three branches come to 27 (the number of New Testament books).[31] Conner connects this to
Bible passages that speak of God's word as a light or lamp (e.g. Psalms 119:105; Psalms 119:130; cf.
Proverbs 6:23).[32]

Hanukkah menorah
Main article: Menorah (Hanukkah)

The Menorah is also a symbol closely associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (also spelled
Chanukah). According to the Talmud, after the Seleucid desecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem,
there was only enough sealed (and therefore not desecrated) consecrated olive oil left to fuel the
eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was enough
time to make new pure oil.

The Talmud states that it is prohibited to use a seven-lamp menorah outside of the Temple.[33] The
Hanukkah menorah therefore has eight main branches, plus the raised ninth lamp set apart as the
shamash (servant) light which is used to kindle the other lights. This type of menorah is called a
hanukiah in Modern Hebrew.[13]

Modern Jewish use

Menorah memorial of the State of Israel with memorial wreaths, KZ Mauthausen memorial, Austria

Synagogues have a continually lit lamp or light in front of the Ark, where the Torah scroll is kept, called
the ner tamid (eternal light). This lamp represents the continually lit ner Elohim of the menorah used in
Temple times.[13]

In addition, many synagogues display either a Menorah or an artistic representation of a menorah.

A menorah appears in the coat of arms of the State of Israel, based on the depiction of the menorah on
the Arch of Titus.

Sometimes when teaching learners of the Hebrew language, a chart shaped like the seven-lamp
menorah is used to help students remember the role of the binyanim of the Hebrew verb.

Temple Institute reconstruction

The Temple Institute has created a life-sized menorah, designed by goldsmith Chaim Odem, intended for
use in a future Third Temple. The Jerusalem Post describes the menorah as made "according to
excruciatingly exacting Biblical specifications and prepared to be pressed into service immediately
should the need arise."[34] The menorah is made of one talent (interpreted as 45 kg) of 24 karat pure
gold, hammered out of a single block of solid gold, with decorations based on the depiction of the
original in the Arch of Titus and the Temple Institute's interpretation of the relevant religious texts.

In other cultures

In the Orthodox Church the use of the menorah has been preserved, always standing on or behind the
altar in the sanctuary.[35] Though candles may be used, the traditional practice is to use olive oil in the
seven-lamp lampstand. There are varying liturgical practices, and usually all seven lamps are lit for the
services, though sometimes only the three centermost are lit for the lesser services. If the church does
not have a sanctuary lamp the centermost lamp of the seven lamps may remain lit as an eternal flame.

The Menorah has also become a symbol for the Iglesia ni Cristo since the 20th century.

The kinara is also, like the menorah, a seven candleholder which is associated with the African American
festival of Kwanzaa. One candle is lit on each day of the week-long celebration, in a similar manner as
the Hanukiah (which was modeled after the menorah) during Hanukkah.
In Taoism, the Seven-Star Lamp qi xing deng 七星燈 is a seven-lamp oil lamp lit to represent the seven
stars of the Northern Dipper.[36] This lampstand is a requirement for all Taoist temples, never to be
extinguished. In the first 9 days of the lunar 9th month festival, an oil lamp of nine connected lamps may
also be lit to honour both the Northern Dipper and two other assistant stars (collectively known as the
Nine Emperor Stars), sons of Dou Mu appointed by the Taoist Trinity (the Three Pure Ones) to hold the
Books of Life and Death of humanity. The lamps represent the illumination of the 7 stars, and lighting
them are believed to absolve sins while prolonging one's lifespan.

In popular culture

The menorah features prominently in the 2013 crypto-thriller The Sword of Moses by Dominic Selwood.
It is also featured in the archaeology novels Crusader Gold, by David Gibbins, and The Last Secret of the
Temple, by Paul Sussman. A menorah can be seen in the movie X-Men: First Class, when Charles Xavier
reads Erik Lehnsherr's mind, searching for a happy memory from his childhood before the Holocaust,
and together they see Erik as a young child lighting his first menorah with his mother.

Gallery


Second Temple period stone tablet from a synagogue in Peki'in, Israel


The Jewish Legion cap badge: menorah and word ‫ קדימה‬Kadima (forward)


A drawing on the depiction of the Menorah seen on the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy.
 
The Coat of Arms of Israel shows a menorah surrounded by an olive branch on each side and the writing
"‫( "ישראל‬Israel) based on its depiction on the Arch of Titus.


The Menorah is seen being sacked as the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was being destroyed by the Roman
army. (70 CE)


Menorah monument at Jewish Cemetery of Theresienstadt concentration camp

 Menorah monument to the 33,771 Jews murdered at Babi Yar, Ukraine


The Knesset Menorah outside the Knesset (Israeli Parliament).


In this 1806 French print, the woman with the Menorah represents the Jews being emancipated by
Napoleon Bonaparte
 
Kippa and Menorah from the Harry S Truman collection


The Menorah, presented to Tsar Boris III from the Bulgarian Jewish community (Tsarska Bistritsa)


Sephardic style Menorah from Spain


The logo of Paris's Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme


A menorah on the flag of Iglesia ni Cristo


Depiction of the Menorah on a modern replica of the Arch of Titus in Rome
Chuppah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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"Huppah" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Hupa (disambiguation).

A chuppah at the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C.

Orthodox Jewish wedding with chuppah in Vienna's first district, close to Judengasse, 2007.

A chuppah (Hebrew: ‫חוּפָּה‬, pl. ‫חוּפּוֹת‬, chuppot, literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chipe,
chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It
consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes
manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will
build together.

In a more general sense, chupah refers to the method by which nesuin, the second stage of a Jewish
marriage, is accomplished. According to some opinions, it is accomplished by the couple standing under
the canopy; however, there are other views.[1][2]
Contents

 1 Customs

 2 History and legal aspects

 3 Symbolism

 4 Modern trends

 5 See also

 6 References

 7 Further reading

Customs

Chuppa at a synagogue in Toronto, Canada

A traditional chuppah, especially in Orthodox Judaism, recommends that there be open sky exactly
above the chuppah,[3] although this is not mandatory among Sephardic communities. If the wedding
ceremony is held indoors in a hall, sometimes a special opening is built to be opened during the
ceremony. Many Hasidim prefer to conduct the entire ceremony outdoors. It is said that the couple's
ancestors are present at the chuppah ceremony.[4]

In Yemen, the Jewish practice was not for the groom and his bride to stand under a canopy (chuppah)
hung on four poles, as is widely practised today in Jewish weddings, but rather to be secluded in a bridal
chamber that was, in effect, a highly decorated room in the house of the groom, known as the chuppah
(see Jewish wedding#Yichud).

History and legal aspects

The word chuppah appears in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Joel 2:16; Psalms 19:5). Abraham P. Bloch states
that the connection between the term chuppah and the wedding ceremony 'can be traced to the Bible';
however, 'the physical appearance of the chuppah and its religious significance have undergone many
changes since then'.[5]

There were for centuries regional differences in what constituted a 'huppah'. Indeed, Solomon Freehof
finds that the wedding canopy was unknown before the 16th century.[6] Alfred J. Kolatch notes that it
was during the Middle Ages that the 'chupa ... in use today' became customary.[7] Daniel Sperber notes
that for many communities prior to the 16th century, the huppah consisted of a veil worn by the bride.[8]
In others, it was a cloth spread over the shoulders of the bride and groom.[8] Numerous illustrations of
Jewish weddings in medieval Europe, North Africa and Italy show no evidence of a huppah as it is known
today. Moses Isserles (1520–1572) notes that the portable marriage canopy was widely adopted by
Ashkenazi Jews (as a symbol of the chamber within which marriages originally took place) in the
generation before he composed his commentary to the Shulchan Aruch.[8]

In Biblical times, a couple consummated their marriage in a room or tent.[9] In Talmudic times, the room
where the marriage was consummated was called the chuppah.[5] There is however a reference of a
wedding canopy in the Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 57a: "It was the custom when a boy was born to plant
a cedar tree and when a girl was born to plant a pine tree, and when they married, the tree was cut
down and a canopy made of the branches".

Jewish weddings consist of two separate parts: the betrothal ceremony, known as erusin or kiddushin,
and the actual wedding ceremony, known as nisuin. The first ceremony (the betrothal, which is today
accomplished when the groom gives a wedding ring to the bride) prohibits the bride to all other men
and cannot be dissolved without a religious divorce (get). The second ceremony permits the bride to her
husband. Originally, the two ceremonies usually took place separately.[1] After the initial betrothal, the
bride lived with her parents until the day the actual marriage ceremony arrived; the wedding ceremony
would then take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her. After the ceremony the bride
and groom would spend an hour together in an ordinary room, and then the bride would enter the
chuppah and, after gaining her permission, the groom would join her.[5]

In the Middle Ages these two stages were increasingly combined into a single ceremony (which, from
the 16th century, became the 'all but universal Jewish custom' and the chuppah lost its original
meaning, with various other customs replacing it.[10] Indeed, in post-talmudic times the use of the
chuppa chamber ceased;[5] the custom that became most common instead was to 'perform the whole
combined ceremony under a canopy, to which the term chuppah was then applied, and to regard the
bride's entry under the canopy as a symbol of the consummation of the marriage'.[10] The canopy
'created the semblance of a room'.[5]

There are legal varying opinions as to how the chuppah ceremony is to be performed today. Major
opinions include standing under the canopy, and secluding the couple together in a room (yichud).[1] The
bethothal and chuppah ceremonies are separated by the reading of the ketubah.[11]

This chuppah ceremony is connected to the seven blessings which are recited over a cup of wine at the
conclusion of the ceremony (birchat nisuin or sheva brachot).

Symbolism

The chuppah represents a Jewish home symbolized by the cloth canopy and the four poles. Just as a
chuppah is open on all four sides, so was the tent of Abraham open for hospitality. Thus, the chuppah
represents hospitality to one's guests. This "home" initially lacks furniture as a reminder that the basis of
a Jewish home is the people within it, not the possessions. In a spiritual sense, the covering of the
chuppah represents the presence of God over the covenant of marriage. As the kippah served as a
reminder of the Creator above all, (also a symbol of separation from God), so the chuppah was erected
to signify that the ceremony and institution of marriage has divine origins.[citation needed]
In Ashkenazic communities, before going under the chuppah the groom covers the bride's face with a
veil, known as the badeken (in Yiddish) or hinuma (in Hebrew). The origin of this tradition and its original
purpose are in dispute. There are opinions that the chuppah means "covering the bride's face", hence
covering the couple to be married. Others suggest that the purpose was for others to witness the act of
covering, formalizing the family's home in a community, as it is a public part of the wedding. In
Sephardic communities, this custom is not practiced. Instead, underneath the chuppah, the couple is
wrapped together underneath a tallit.[clarification needed]

The groom enters the chuppah first to represent his ownership of the home on behalf of the couple.
When the bride then enters the chuppah it is as though the groom is providing her with shelter or
clothing, and he thus publicly demonstrates his new responsibilities toward her.[12]

Modern trends

A chuppah can be made of any material. A tallit or embroidered velvet cloth are commonly used. Silk or
quilted chuppot are increasingly common, and can often be customized or personalized to suit the
couple's unique interests and occupations.[13][14]
Gartel

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Silk gartel

Silk-like gartel

Silk woven gartel

The gartel is a belt used by Jewish males, predominantly (but not exclusively) Hasidim, during prayer.
"Gartel" is Yiddish for "belt". The word comes from the same source as German "Gürtel", which is also
cognate with the English "girdle", and "girt".

The vast majority of those that wear a Gartel during prayer are Hasidic Orthodox Jews; a smaller number
of non-Hasidic Haredim, mostly Lithuanian Jews who emigrated to Jerusalem in the late 18th to early
19th centuries called Perushim.

Gartels are generally very modest in appearance. Most are black, but some gartels are white,
possibly[according to whom?] to be used on some special occasions such as Yom Kippur, and cost more than
black counterparts of the same width. Gartels are composed of multiple strings, anywhere from four to
over forty in number.

Hasidic custom requires that there be a physical divide between the heart and the genitalia during any
mention of God's name. It is commonly explained that separating the upper and lower parts of the body
manifests a control of the animal instincts of the person by the distinctly human intellect.

Additionally, donning a gartel is a preparation for prayer, in accordance with the line "Prepare to meet
your God, O Israel" in the Biblical verse, Amos 4:12 (Shulchan Aruch O.C. 91:2). The Mishnah Berurah
(91:5) states that any waistband is adequate for the first requirement, however for the second
requirement more is needed, which the gartel fulfills.

Hasidic authorities maintain that a regular belt or the waistband of trousers do not suffice to fulfill this
requirement, and that a designated sash is to be used. Other authorities maintain that other
modifications, such as donning a formal hat and jacket, suffice to fulfill the second requirement of
preparation for prayer, as long as the first requirement is fulfilled.

Some Hasidic groups such as Skver and Belz wear the gartel all day as part of their regular attire.

A gartel is also used by some Hasidim for a Mitzvah tantz.[1]

Kippah

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Crocheted kippot for sale in Jerusalem

A kippah (/kɪˈpɑː/; also spelled as kippa, kipa, kipah; Hebrew: ‫כִּיפָּה‬, plural: ‫ כִּיפּוֹת‬kippot; Yiddish: ‫קאפל‬
koppel), or yarmulke (/ˈjɑːrməlkə/, pronunciation /ˈjɑːməkə/, Yiddish: ‫)יאַרמולקע‬, is a brimless cap,
usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the customary requirement that the
head be covered. It is worn by men in Orthodox communities at all times. Among non-Orthodox
communities most people who wear them customarily do so only during prayer, while attending a
synagogue or in other rituals. Most synagogues and Jewish funeral services keep a ready supply of
kippot.

Contents

 1 Etymology

 2 Jewish law

 3 Types and variation

 4 Head coverings in ancient Israelite culture

 5 Civil legal issues

 6 Wearing by non-Jews

 7 See also

 8 References

Etymology
The term kippah (Hebrew: ‫ )כיפה‬literally means "dome", as the kippah is worn on the head like a dome.
The Yiddish term yarmulke might be derived from Polish jarmułka,[1] although it is often associated with
an Aramaic phrase (‫ )ירא מלכא‬meaning "fear the King".[2] Another suggested etymology of yarmulke is the
Latin word for an ecclesiastical hood worn in the medieval church.[3][specify]

Keppel or koppel is another Yiddish term for the same thing.[4]

Jewish law

There is debate among Halachic authorities as to whether wearing a kippah at all times is required.[5]
According to the Rambam, Jewish law dictates that a man is required to cover his head during prayer.[6]

However, according to some authorities, it has since taken on the force of law because it is an act of
Kiddush Hashem (lit., "sanctification of the Name", referring to actions which bring honor to God).[7] The
17th-century authority Rabbi David HaLevi Segal (The "Taz") suggested that the reason was to
distinguish Jews from their non-Jewish counterparts, especially while at prayer. He held that nowadays,
wearing a kippah is required by halacha.[5]

Other halachic authorities like Sephardi posek, the Chida (Rabbi Chaim David Yosef Azulai), hold that
wearing a head covering is a midat hasidut, an additional measure of piety.[5] In a recent responsum,
former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef ruled that it should be worn to show affiliation with
the religiously observant community.[8]

The Talmud states, "Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you."[9] Rabbi Hunah
ben Joshua never walked 4 cubits (6.6 feet, or 2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained:
"Because the Divine Presence is always over my head."[10] This was understood by Rabbi Yosef Karo in
the Shulchan Arukh as indicating that Jewish men should cover their heads, and should not walk more
than four cubits bareheaded.[11] Covering one's head, such as by wearing a kippah, is described as
"honoring God".[12] The Mishnah Berurah modifies this ruling, adding that the Achronim established a
requirement to wear a head covering even when traversing fewer than four cubits,[13] and even when
one is standing still, indoors and outside.[14] Kitzur Shulchan Aruch cites a story from the Talmud
(Shabbat 156b) about Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, who might have become a thief had his mother not
saved him from this fate by insisting that he cover his head, which instilled in him the fear of God.[15] In
Orthodox communities, boys are encouraged to wear a kippah from a young age in order to ingrain the
habit.[16]

IDF soldier, Lt. Asael Lubotzky, prays with kippah and tefillin.

The Talmud also implies that unmarried men did not wear a kippah:
Rabbi Hisda praised Rabbi Hamnuna before Rabbi Huna as a great man. He said to him, 'When he visits
you, bring him to me.' When he arrived, he saw that he wore no head-covering. 'Why do you not have
head-covering?', he asked. 'Because I am not married', was the reply. Thereupon, he [Rabbi Huna]
turned his face away from him, and said, 'See to it that you do not appear before me again before you
are married.'[17]

The Tanakh implies that covering one's head is a sign of mourning:

And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and his head was covered
and he walked barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up
weeping as they went.

— 2 Samuel 15:30

[Judah mourns,] and their nobles send their lads for water: they come to the pits, and find no water;
their vessels return empty; they are ashamed and confounded, and cover their heads. Because of the
ground which is cracked, for there hath been no rain in the land, the plowmen are ashamed, they cover
their heads.

— Jeremiah 14:3–4

The argument for the kippa has two sides. The Vilna Gaon said one can make a berakhah without a
kippah, since wearing a kippah is only a midos chassidus ("exemplary attribute"). Recently, there has
been an effort to suppress earlier sources that practiced this leniency, including erasing lenient responsa
from newly published books.[18]

According to Rabbi Isaac Klein, a Conservative Jew ought to cover his head when in the synagogue, at
prayer or sacred study, when engaging in a ritual act, and when eating.[19] In the mid-19th century,
Reformers led by Isaac Wise completely rejected the kippot after an altercation in which Rabbi Wise's
kippah was knocked off his head.[20]

There is still debate about whether wearing a Kippah is Halachic law or simply a custom. Many Sephardic
Jews wear a kippah only when praying and eating.[citation needed]

Types and variation

Rabbinical chaplain Sarah Schechter with fellow U.S. Airmen wearing camouflage kippot.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, the distinctive Jewish headgear was the Jewish hat, a full hat with a brim
and a central point or stalk. Originally used by choice among Jews to distinguish themselves, it was later
made compulsory in some places by Christian governments as a discriminatory measure. In the early
19th century in the United States, rabbis often wore a scholar's cap (large saucer-shaped caps of cloth,
like a beret) or a Chinese skullcap. Other Jews of this era wore black pillbox-shaped kippot.

Often, the color and fabric of the kippah can be a sign of adherence to a specific religious movement,
particularly in Israel. Knitted or crocheted kippot, known as kippot serugot, are usually worn by Religious
Zionists and the Modern Orthodox,[21] who also wear suede or leather kippot. Members of most Haredi
groups wear black velvet or cloth kippot.

More recently, kippot have been observed made in the colors of sports teams, especially football. In the
United States, children's kippot with cartoon characters or themes such as Star Wars are popular. (In
response to this trend, some Jewish schools have banned kippot with characters that do not conform to
traditional Jewish values.[22]) Kippot have been inscribed on the inside as a souvenir for a celebration
(bar/bat mitzvah or wedding). Kippot for women are also being made and worn.[23][24][25] These are
sometimes made of beaded wire to seem more feminine.[26] A special baby kippah has two strings on
each side to fasten it and is often used in a brit milah ceremony.[27]

Samaritans once wore distinctive blue head coverings to separate them from Jews who wore white
ones, but today, they more commonly wear fezes with turbans similar to that of Sephardi Jews from the
Middle East and North Africa. Today, Samaritans do not usually wear head coverings, except during
prayer, Sabbath, and religious festivals.[citation needed]

Image Type Movement

Religious Zionism, Modern Orthodox, Conservative Judaism, Reform

Crocheted
Judaism

Suede Modern Orthodox,[24] Conservative Judaism,[28] Reform Judaism[28]

Yeshivish, Hasidic, Haredi, Lubavitch – Popular among Rabbis teaching in

Terylene[29]
yeshivas and seminaries

Black velvet Yeshivish, Hasidic, Haredi[30]

Satin Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism

 Many Jerusalemites wear a full-head-sized, white crocheted kippah,
sometimes with a knit pom-pom or tassel on top. The Na Nach subgroup
White
of the Breslov Hasidim, followers of the late Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser,
crocheted
wear it with the Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman phrase crocheted
in or embroidered on it.[31]

Popular with children,[23][32] and also worn by some Sephardi Jews, as

Bukharan[32]
well as liberal-leaning and Reform Jews.[33]

Typically stiff, black velvet with a 1–2 cm. embroidered strip around the
Yemenite
edge having a multi-colored geometric, floral, or paisley pattern.

Head coverings in ancient Israelite culture

This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made
and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The Israelites on Sennacherib's marble relief appear with headdress, and although the ambassadors of
Jehu on the Shalmaneser stele have head coverings, their costume seems to be Israelite. One passage of
the older literature is of significance: I Kings 20:31 mentions ‫ חֲבָליִם‬havalim, which are placed around the
head. This calls to mind pictures of Syrians on Egyptian monuments, represented wearing a cord around
their long, flowing hair, a custom still followed in Arabia.

Evidently the costume of the poorest classes is represented; but as the cord gave no protection against
the heat of the sun, there is little probability that the custom lasted very long. Much more common was
the simple cloth skullcap, dating back to Egyptian times when those of high society routinely shaved
their heads, to prevent lice. Conversely, their skullcaps also served as protection against irritation from
their wigs.

The Israelites might have worn a headdress similar to that worn by the Bedouins, but it is unknown
whether a fixed type of headdress was utilized. That the headdress of the Israelites might have been in
the fellah style may be inferred from the use of the noun ‫ צַנִיף‬tzanif (the verb tzanaf meaning "to roll like
a ball", Isaiah 22:18) and by the verb ‫ חַבָּש‬habash ("to wind", comp. Ezekiel 16:10; Jonah 2:6). As to the
form of such turbans, nothing is known, and they may have varied according to the different classes of
society. This was customary with the Assyrians and Babylonians, for example, whose fashions likely
influenced the costume of the Israelites—particularly during and after the Babylonian Exile.[34] In Yemen,
the wrap around the cap was called ‫ מַצַר‬matzar; the head covering worn by women was a ‫גַּרגוּש‬
gargush.[35]

Civil legal issues

In Goldman v. Weinberger, 475 U.S. 503 (1986), the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision
that active military members were required to remove the yarmulke indoors, citing uniform regulations
that state only armed security police may keep their heads covered while indoors.[36]

Congress passed the Religious Apparel Amendment after a war story from the 1983 Beirut barracks
bombing about the "camouflage kippah" of Jewish Navy Chaplain Arnold Resnicoff was read into the
Congressional Record.[37] Catholic Chaplain George Pucciarelli tore off a piece of his Marine Corps
uniform to replace Resnicoff's kippah when it had become blood-soaked after being used to wipe the
faces of wounded Marines after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.[38] This amendment was eventually
incorporated into U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) regulations on the "Accommodation of Religious
Practices Within the Military Services".[39]

U.S. President Bill Clinton wearing a kippah to visit the grave of Yitzhak Rabin on Mount Herzl.

This story of the "camouflage kippah" was re-told at many levels,[40] including a keynote speech by
President Ronald Reagan to the Baptist Fundamentalism Annual Convention in 1984,[41] and another
time during a White House meeting between Reagan and the American Friends of Lubavitch.[42] After
recounting the Beirut story, Reagan asked them about the religious meaning of the kippah.[42] Rabbi
Abraham Shemtov, the leader of the group, responded: "Mr. President, the kippah to us is a sign of
reverence." Rabbi Feller, another member of the group, continued: "We place the kippah on the very
highest point of our being—on our head, the vessel of our intellect—to tell ourselves and the world that
there is something which is above man's intellect: the infinite Wisdom of God."[42]

Passage of the Religious Apparel Amendment and the subsequent DOD regulations were followed in
1997 by the passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). However, the Supreme Court
struck down RFRA as beyond Congress' powers to bind the states in the 1997 case City of Boerne v.
Flores. RFRA is constitutional as applied to the Federal government, as seen in Gonzales v. O Centro
Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal.

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 114 Stat. 804, 42 U. S. C.
§2000cc-1(a)(1)-(2), upheld as constitutional in Cutter v. Wilkinson, 44 U.S. 709 (2005), requires by
inference that Orthodox Jewish prisoners be reasonably accommodated in their request to wear
yarmulkas.[43]

The French government banned the wearing of kippot, hijabs, and large crosses in public primary and
secondary schools in France in March 2004.[44]
The provincial government of Quebec, Canada passed "An Act respecting the laicity of the State" in June
2019, which prohibits the wearing of "religious symbols" by government employees including teachers,
police officers, judges, prosecutors, and members of certain commissions.[45]

Wearing by non-Jews

Though it is not required, when a non-Jew wears a kippah in a synagogue, it is considered a sign of
respect.[46] Yarmulkes are often provided to guests at a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.[47] They are also often
provided at bereavement events and at Jewish cemeteries. According to the Conservative Committee on
Jewish Law and Standards, there is no halakhic reason to require a non-Jew to cover their head, but it is
recommended that non-Jews be asked to wear a kippah where ritual or worship is being conducted,
both out of respect for the Jewish congregation and as a gesture of respectfully including the non-Jewish
guest.[48]

Kippahs were adopted as a symbol by some of the non-Jewish African American marchers in the 1965
Selma to Montgomery marches,[49] most prominently by James Bevel.[50]
Kittel

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This article is about the Jewish robe. For the surname, see Kittel (surname).

A kittel

A kittel (Yiddish: ‫ )קיטל‬is a white linen or cotton robe [1] worn by religious Jews on holidays, in the
synagogue or at home when leading the Passover seder. Kittels are sometimes worn by grooms. It is also
customary for Jews to be buried in a kittel.

History

In traditional non-egalitarian Judaism, married men wear a kittel in the synagogue on Yom Kippur.[2] In
traditional egalitarian synagogues, religious Jews - both men and women - wear a kittel. [3] The wearing
of a kittel on the High Holidays is symbolically linked to its use as a burial shroud, and, to the verse "our
sins shall be made as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18).[4]Some wear a kittel when leading the Passover
Seder.[5]
In some communities, the cantor wears a kittel on the first night of Selichot, the seventh day of the
Holiday of Sukkot (also known as Hoshanah Rabbah), the Musaf prayers of Shemini Atzeret and the first
day of Passover, where the prayers for rain (Tefilat HaGeshem) and dew (Tefilat HaTal) are respectively
recited.

In some communities, a bridegroom wears a kittel on his wedding day.[6]

In some parts of the Jewish world, the kittel is known as a sargenes, related to the Old French serge as
well as Latin serica.

Symbolism

As a shroud, the kittel signifies simple attire that assures equality for all in death. Because Jewish law
dictates that the dead are buried without anything else in the coffin other than simple linen clothes, a
kittel has no pockets.

The white color is said to symbolize purity, which partly explains its use during weddings. It is also felt to
signify unity with the bride (who also wears white) and the beginning of a new life together. Another
reason it is worn at the wedding is because it has no pockets, showing that the couple is marrying for
love, not for what they possess.[citation needed]
Shtreimel

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Yerushalmi Jew wearing a shtreimel, Jerusalem

A shtreimel (Yiddish: ‫ שטרײַמל‬shtrayml, plural: ‫ שטרײַמלעך‬shtraymlekh or ‫ שטרײַמלען‬shtraymlen) is a fur

hat worn by many married Haredi Jewish men, particularly (although not exclusively) members of
Hasidic Judaism, on Shabbat and Jewish holidays and other festive occasions.[1] In Jerusalem, the
shtreimel is also worn by Litvak Jews (non-Hasidim who belong to the original Ashkenazi community of
Jerusalem, also known as Perushim). The shtreimel is generally worn only after marriage, except in some
Jewish Jerusalem communities, where boys wear it from the age of bar mitzvah.

Contents

 1 Origins

 2 Types of shtreimels

 3 Symbolism

 4 Manufacture

 5 Occasions for wearing shtreimels

 6 See also

 7 References

Origins

There is much speculation surrounding the origin of the shtreimel. According to the Encyclopædia
Britannica, it is of Tatar origin.[2] Different theories hold that it is of Tatar, Turkish or Russian origin, but it
is not possible to establish a clear chronology.[3] Some legends say that the initial reason for adopting
the shtreimel was that the Russian tsar of the time decreed that the Jews must dress like the
Gentiles.[citation needed] The shtreimel is comparable in construction to fur hats historically worn by nobles
or gentiles across Europe, Scandinavia and Russia.[4][5] According to the Jewish Historical Institute in
Warsaw, the shtreimel could come from a period in the 17th century when Oriental costumes were
considered fashionable by the nobility of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Sarmatism).[5]

Types of shtreimels

Portrait of the Tzemach Tzedek wearing his unique shtreimel

Portrait of David Moses Friedman of the Chortkov dynasty wearing the unique shtreimel of the Ruzhin
dynasty

The most widely seen shtreimel is typically worn by the Hasidim of Galicia, Romania, and Hungary, and
was worn by Lithuanian Jews up until the 20th century. It comprises a large circular piece of black velvet
surrounded by fur. The shtreimel of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (the Tzemach Tzedek) was from
white velvet. Hasidim originating from Congress Poland wear a high shtreimel (often called a spodik).
The shtreimel of the Rebbes of the Ruzhin and Skolye dynasties is pointed upward.

Symbolism

While there is strong religious custom for Jewish males to cover their heads, from the standpoint of
Jewish law there is no special religious significance to the shtreimel as compared to other head
coverings.[citation needed] However, the wearing of two head coverings (the shtreimel is always worn over a
yarmulke) is considered to add additional spiritual merit, plus the presence of beautiful craftsmanship
adds beautification and honour to the custom.[citation needed] Such headgear is worn on special occasions
(such as Shabbat), in the synagogue, or by office-holders such as rabbis.[citation needed]

According to Rabbi Aaron Wertheim, Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz (1726–1791) stated that "[t]he acronym
for Shabbos is: Shtreimel Bimkom Tefillin - the shtreimel takes the place of tefillin."[6] Since wearing
special clothing on Shabbat is a form of sanctification, among the Hasidim of Galicia and Hungary the
shtreimel is associated with the holiness of Shabbat, a crown such as that worn by royalty, which
enhances and beautifies Shabbat.[citation needed]

Arnon asserts that the number of furs used in the manufacture of the shtreimel has some significance.
Common numbers are 13, 18, and 26, corresponding respectively to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy,
the numerical value (gematria) of the word for life (Hebrew: ‫)חי‬, and the numerical value of the
Tetragrammaton.[7] Contemporary shtreimlach may include higher numbers of tails. At least one maker
creates shtreimelach with 42 tails, symbolizing the 42-letter Divine Name.[citation needed]

Male Orthodox Jews can be highly conservative regarding headgear, and some traditional Jews still wear
fedoras or homburgs.[8] Although the traditional Jewish headgear is of Gentile origin and has specific
historical and geographical roots, it continues being worn by traditional Jews even when non-Jews in the
country of origin have long stopped wearing it.[citation needed]
Manufacture

The shtreimel is typically custom-made for the intended wearer, of genuine fur, from the tips of the tails
typically of Canadian or Russian sable, beech marten, baum marten (European pine marten), or
American gray fox. The shtreimel is almost always the most costly article of Hasidic clothing.[9] It is
possible to buy a shtreimel made of synthetic fur, which is more common in Israel[citation needed]. Usually
the bride's father purchases the shtreimel for the groom upon his wedding. Nowadays, it is customary in
America to purchase two shtreimels: a cheaper version, called the regen shtreimel ("rain shtreimel"),
used for occasions where the expensive one may get damaged. In Israel, due to the economic
circumstances of most members of the Hasidic community in that country, the vast majority of
shtreimel-wearers own only one shtreimel. The shtreimel manufacturers (shtreimel machers) keep their
trade a closely guarded secret.[10]

Occasions for wearing shtreimels

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The shtreimel is only worn in conjunction with other articles of clothing that comprise "Shabbos wear".
It is never worn with weekday clothing.

While there are no official rules as to when the shtreimel is to be worn, it is usually worn on the
following occasions:

 Shabbat

 Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Shemini Atzeret,
Purim, Shushan Purim, Passover, Shavuot

 (Chol HaMoed) of Pesach and Sukkot

 the evenings following the end of the above-mentioned days

 Isru Chag (the day after Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot)

 at one's own wedding, or those of family members or of members of one's Rebbe's family. In
some communities, it is customary to wear the shtreimel at all weddings, if the groom does so
as well; similarly at formal engagement parties (Vort)[11]

 during the seven days following one's wedding, or of the wedding of a close family member
(Sheva Brachot)

 at a brit milah of direct family.

 at Bar Mitzvah of one's own son in most, but not all, communities

Some Hasidic Rebbes wear a shtreimel on occasions when their Hasidim will not, such as when lighting
the menorah or when conducting a tish on Tu BiShvat and Lag BaOmer, whereas other rebbes may wear
a kolpik on those occasions, and still others simply wear their weekday hat.
Tachrichim

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Tachrichim (Hebrew: ‫ )תכריכים‬are traditional simple white burial furnishings, usually made from 100%
pure linen, in which the bodies of deceased Jews are dressed by the Chevra Kadisha, or other burial
group, for interment after undergoing a taharah (ritual purification).

In Hebrew, tachrichim means to "enwrap" or "bind". It comes from the Biblical verse (Esther 8:15) "And
Mordechai left the king's presence in royal apparel of blue and white and a huge golden crown and a
wrap of linen (tachrich butz) and purple, and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was happy".

History

The traditional clothing for burying the dead are tachrichim, simple white garments or furnishings,
including a winding sheet (sovev). Their use dates back to Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel II, who, in the
second century CE, asked to be buried in inexpensive linen garments. According to the Talmud, Rabban
Gamliel observed that the custom of dressing the deceased in expensive clothing put such a terrible
burden on the relatives of the deceased, that they would "abandon the body and run."[1]

The custom he initiated - which set both a decorous minimum and a limit on ostentation - has been
followed by observant Jews ever since. "Whoever heaps elaborate shrouds upon the dead transgresses
the injunction against wanton destruction. Such a one disgraces the deceased."[2] The universal use of
shrouds protected the poor from embarrassment at not being able to afford lavish burial clothes. Since
shrouds have no pockets, wealth or status cannot be expressed or acknowledged in death. In every
generation, these garments reaffirmed a fundamental belief in human equality.

Tachrichim are white and entirely hand stitched, without tying knots. They are made without buttons,
zippers, or fasteners. Tahrihim come in muslin or linen, fabrics that recall the garments of the ancient
Hebrew priesthood. There is little difference in appearance or cost between them; the funeral home
may or may not offer a choice. Tahrihim come packaged in sets for men and women. Regardless of
gender, they include a tunic, pants, hood, and belt. The belt is tied to form the shape of the Hebrew
letter shin, which stands for Shaddai, one of the accepted representations of God's ineffable Name. If
the pants are not closed at the bottom to cover the feet, "booties" are additionally provided. The face is
generally covered with a sudarium, much as in traditional artistic representations of Lazarus or Jesus in
His tomb. Men may also be wrapped in a kittel, a simple, white ceremonial robe that some Jews wear on
Yom Kippur, at the Passover seder, and under the wedding canopy. In earlier times, the sisterhoods or
women's auxiliaries would make shrouds for their community; this practice may still occur in traditional
communities.
If the body has been prepared for burial with ritual cleansing (taharah), the body will automatically be
dressed in tahrihim. Jewish funeral homes and burial societies (chevra kadishim) in general have a
supply on hand, and the cost may be covered by their honorarium.

In addition to tachrichim, some Jewish men are wrapped in the prayer shawl (tallit) in which they
prayed. In this case, before the tallit is placed on a body for burial, one of its sets of fringes (tzitzit) is cut
to demonstrate that the person is no longer bound by the religious obligations of the living.

Tahrihim swaddle the entire body, including the face, so that the deceased is both clothed and
protected against the gaze of other people. If shrouds are used, the body is placed in the coffin, which is
then closed. In Israel, it is customary to bury the deceased (except soldiers) without a coffin.

Today, virtually all (Jewish) mortuaries carry tachrichim. The prices vary, depending on whether it is
cotton or linen, or whether it is hand sewn.
Tallit

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A white tallit according to some Sephardic traditions

A tallit with black stripes according to the Orthodox Ashkenazic tradition

A folded tallit

A tallit (Hebrew: ‫[ טַלִּית‬taˈlit] talit[1] in Modern Hebrew; tālēt in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino; tallis[2] in
Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish) (pl. tallitot [taliˈtot], talleisim,[3] tallism[4] in Ashkenazic Hebrew and
Yiddish; ṭālēth/ṭelāyōth in Tiberian Hebrew) is a fringed garment, traditionally worn as a prayer shawl by
religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four
corners. The cloth part is known as the "beged" (lit. garment) and is usually made from wool or cotton,
although silk is sometimes used for a tallit gadol.

The term is, to an extent, ambiguous. It can refer either to the "tallit katan" (small tallit) item that can be
worn over or under clothing and commonly referred to as "tzitzit", or to the "tallit gadol" (big tallit)
Jewish prayer shawl worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers (Shacharit) and worn
during all prayers on Yom Kippur.[5] The term "tallit" alone, usually refers to the tallit gadol.

There are different traditions regarding the age from which a tallit gadol is used, even within Orthodox
Judaism. In some communities, it is first worn from bar mitzvah (though the tallit katan is worn from
pre-school age). In many Ashkenazi circles, a tallit gadol is worn only from marriage, and in some
communities it may be customarily presented to a groom before marriage as a wedding present or even
as part of a dowry.

Contents

 1 Biblical commandment

 2 Pronunciation

 3 Etymology

 4 Idiom

 5 Customs

o 5.1 History

o 5.2 Weddings

o 5.3 Burials

o 5.4 Additional occasions

 6 Types of tallitot

o 6.1 Tallit katan

o 6.2 Tallit gadol

 7 Women

 8 See also

 9 References
  10 External links

Biblical commandment

The Bible does not command wearing of a unique prayer shawl or tallit. Instead, it presumes that people
wore a garment of some type to cover themselves and instructs the Children of Israel to attach fringes
(‫ ציצית‬tzitzit) to the corners of these (Numbers 15:38), repeating the commandment in terms that they
should "make thee twisted cords upon the four corners of thy covering, wherewith thou coverest
thyself" (Deuteronomy 22:12). These passages do not specify tying particular types or numbers of knots
in the fringes. The exact customs regarding the tying of the tzitzit and the format of the tallit are of post-
biblical, rabbinic origin and, though the Talmud discusses these matters, slightly different traditions have
developed in different communities.[6] However the Bible is specific as to the purpose of these tzitzit,
stating that "it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the
commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own
eyes, after which ye use to go astray; that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy
unto your God".[7]

Encyclopaedia Judaica describes the prayer shawl as "a rectangular mantle that looked like a blanket and
was worn by men in ancient times". Also, it "is usually white and made either of wool, cotton, or silk".[8]

Traditionally the tallit is made of wool or linen, based on an understanding that reference to a
"garment" in the bible in connection with a mitzvah refers specifically to wool and linen garments.[9]
Though other materials are sometimes used, the debate has not reached a conclusion, and many,
especially among the orthodox, prefer wool which is accepted by all authorities.[10] There is also debate
about mixed wool and linen tallit, since the bible forbids klayim (shatnez) - "intertying" wool and linen
together, with the two exceptions being garments of kohanim and tzitzit. Concerning tzitzit, chazal (the
sages) permit using wool and linen strings in tandem only when genuine tekhelet (see below) is
available, whereas kabbalist sources take it a step further by encouraging its practice.[11][12]

According to the biblical commandment,[13] a blue thread (‫פתיל תכלת‬, pəthiyl (thread) tək·ā'·leth (blue)) is
included in the tzitzit.[14] However, for many centuries since the exile of the Jewish people from the Land
of Israel, tzitzit have been worn without a techelet fringe, though in the last hundred years there has
been something of a comeback.[15][16]

Pronunciation

In Modern Hebrew the word is pronounced [taˈlit], with the stress on the final syllable. In Yiddish it is
[ˈtaləs], with the stress on the first syllable. The plural of tallit in Hebrew is tallitot, pronounced [taliˈtot].
The Yiddish plural is taleisim, pronounced [taˈlejsɪm].

Etymology

Tallit is an Aramaic word from the root T-L-L ‫ טלל‬meaning cover.[17] Tallit literally means cloak or sheet
but in Talmudic times already referred to the Jewish prayer shawl.

Idiom

In modern Hebrew idiom, the sarcastic expression, "a completely blue tallit" (‫ )טלית שכולה תכלת‬is widely
used to refer to something that is ostensibly, but not really, absolutely pure, immaculate and virtuous.
(An English parallel might be calling someone "Mr. Perfect.") The expression stems from rabbinic lore
about the biblical figure Korah who led a revolt against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Koraḥ was
said to have asked Moses a number of vexatious, mocking questions, one of which was, "Does a tallit
made entirely of blue yarn require tzitzit?" To Moses' affirmative answer, Koraḥ objected that an
ordinary (undyed) tallit is rendered 'kosher' (meaning, in this context, ritually fit to be worn) by
attaching to its corners the tzitzit tassels, whose key feature was the single thread of blue (‫)פתיל תכלת‬
contained in each tassel.[18] If so, what addition of holiness[19] could the tzitzit contribute to a tallit which
was made entirely of the same sky-blue yarn?

The notion implicit in questions like this attributed by the rabbis to Koraḥ is the same as that expressed
in Koraḥ's challenge to Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:3), "The entire congregation is holy, and God is in
their midst, so why do you exalt yourselves above God's congregation?" Koraḥ ostensibly subscribed to
the laws that were the subject of his questions to Moses, but was really using them to mock and
discredit Moses. Therefore, Koraḥ's question about a tallit made entirely of blue yarn, which is
ostensibly "more kosher than tzitzit" but is really not, since it still requires tzitzit, became, in Hebrew
idiom, an epithet used sarcastically against hypocritical displays of false piety.

The phrase "more kosher than tzitzit" is a Yiddish metaphoric expression (‫ )כשר'ער ווי ציצית‬with similar
connotations but is not necessarily used in a sarcastic sense. It can refer, in the superlative, to
something that is really so perfect and flawless as to be beyond all reproach or criticism.

Customs

In some Jewish communities a tallit gadol is given as a gift by a father to a son, a father-in-law to a son-
in-law, or a teacher to a student. It might be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding or
a bar mitzvah. Many parents purchase a tallit gadol for their sons at the age of 13, together with tefillin,
though among the orthodox a male child will have been wearing a tallit katan from pre-school age. In
the non-Orthodox Reform and Conservative movements in addition to the men, some women nowadays
also wear a tallit gadol. While many worshipers bring their own tallit gadol to synagogue, there is usually
a rack of them for the use of visitors and guests.

At Jewish wedding ceremonies, a tallit gadol is often used as a chuppah or wedding canopy. Similarly, a
tallit gadol is traditionally spread out as a canopy over the children during the Torah-reading ceremony
during the holiday of Simchat Torah, or in any procession with Torah scrolls, such as when parading a
newly completed scroll through the streets.

The tallit gadol is traditionally draped over the shoulders, but during prayer, some cover their head with
it, notably during specific parts of the service such as the Amidah and when called to the Torah for an
aliyah.

In the Talmudic and post-Talmudic periods the tefillin were worn by rabbis and scholars all day, and a
special tallit was worn at prayer; hence they put on the tefillin before the tallit, as appears in the order
given in "Seder Rabbi Amram Gaon" (p. 2a) and in the Zohar. In modern practice, the opposite order is
considered more "correct". Based on the Talmudic principle of tadir v'she'ayno tadir, tadir kodem (‫תדיר‬
‫ תדיר קודם‬,‫ושאינו תדיר‬: lit., frequent and infrequent, frequent first), when one performs more than one
mitzva at a time, those that are performed more frequently should be performed first. While the tallit is
worn daily, tefillin are not worn on Shabbat and holidays.
On the fast day of Tisha B'Av, different customs prevail. Some Ashkenazim do not wear a tallit gadol
during the morning (Shacharit) service and those who do omit the blessing regarding donning a fringed
garment (Tzitzit); at the afternoon service (Mincha), those who wear a tallit gadol make the blessing on
fringes then.[20] Some Sephardim (according to Kabbalah and the local custom (Minhag) for Jerusalem)
wear the tallit at Shacharit as usual.[21]

The Kabbalists considered the tallit as a special garment for the service of God, intended, in connection
with the tefillin, to inspire awe and reverence for God at prayer.[22] The tallit gadol is worn by worshipers
at the morning prayer on weekdays, Shabbat, and holy days; by the hazzan (cantor) at every prayer
while before the ark; and by the reader of Torah, as well as by all other functionaries during the Torah
reading.

History

The literal commandment in the Bible was not to wear a tallit but to attach tzitzit to the corners of one's
four-cornered garments, implying that such clothes were worn in any event by people of the region.
Such garments were large, white and rectangular and used as a garment, bed sheet, and burial shroud.
These four-cornered garments may have developed from similar garments suitable for the climate of
West Asia where typically the days are hot and the garment can be draped around the body and head to
provide cover from the sun or just bunched up on the shoulders for later evening use; the evenings can
be dramatically cool and the garment could be draped around the neck and shoulders like a scarf to
provide warmth. Such garments continue to be worn today in the region, for instance the Bedouin
square-form abbaya.

Though in biblical times the tzitzit were attached to such everyday garments, both the present tallit
gadol and tallit katan developed subsequently to address the fact that Jews no longer wore four-
cornered garments, and were in danger therefore of losing this mitzvah.[23] The tallit katan is worn all
day, usually as an undergarment; the tallit gadol is almost exclusively worn only for morning prayers,
rarely outside.

Weddings

In many Sephardic communities, the groom traditionally wears a tallit gadol under the chuppah
(wedding canopy). This is also the custom in German Jewish communities. In non-German Ashkenazi
communities, a more widespread custom is that the groom wears a kittel. In Hasidic and some non-
Hasidic communities, an overcoat is worn over the kittel.

Burials

In the Diaspora, Jews are buried in a plain, wooden casket. The corpse is collected from the place of
death (home, hospital, etc.) by the chevra kadisha (burial committee). After a ritual washing of the body,
the body of men is dressed in a kittel and then a tallit gadol. One of the tzitzit is then cut off. In the Land
of Israel, burial is without a casket, and the kittel and tallit are the only coverings for the corpse. Women
are buried in white shrouds only.

Additional occasions

In addition to the morning prayers of weekdays, Shabbat and holidays, a tallit gadol is also worn for
Selichos in Ashkenazic communities by the prayer leader, even though it is still night.[24] A tallit is also
worn at night on Yom Kippur, from Kol Nidre, which begins during the daylight hours until after the
evening (Ma'ariv) service.[25]

Types of tallitot

Tallit katan

An Orthodox Jewish man wearing a wool tallit katan under his vest.

The tallit katan (Yiddish/Ashkenazic Hebrew tallis koton; "small tallit") is a fringed garment traditionally
worn either under or over one's clothing by Jewish males. It is a poncho-like garment with a hole for the
head and special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. The
requirements regarding the fabric and fringes of a tallit katan are the same as that of a tallit gadol.
Generally a tallit katan is made of wool or cotton.

Although Sephardi halakha generally maintains a distinct preference for a woolen garment as per the
ruling of the Shulchan Aruch, among Ashkenazim customs are split, with the Rema ruling that all
garment types are acceptable.[26] Whilst the Mishnah Berurah and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein recommend
wearing a woolen garment in accordance with the Shulchan Aruch's ruling, the Chazon Ish was known to
wear cotton, in accordance with the ruling of the Vilna Gaon.[27] This was also the practice of Rabbi
Joseph Soloveitchik, and that of German Jewry historically.[28]

While all four cornered garments are required to have tzitzit, the custom of specially wearing a tallit
katan is based on a verse in Numbers 15:38-39 which tells Moses to exhort the Children of Israel to
"make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments."[29] Wearing a tallit
kattan is not mandated in Biblical law, but in Rabbinic law the practice is strongly encouraged for men,
and often considered obligatory or a binding custom.[26][30][31]

The tallit katan is also known as arba kanfot (Yiddish/Ashkenazic Hebrew: arba kanfos), literally "four
corners", and may be referred to synecdochally as tzitzit.

Tallit gadol
A typical tallit bag. The Hebrew embroidery says tallit. Frequently the owner will add additional
embroidery with their name.

The tallit gadol (Yiddish/Ashkenazic Hebrew tallis godoil; traditionally known as tallét gedolah among
Sephardim), or "large" tallit, is worn over one's clothing resting on the shoulders. This is the prayer
shawl that is worn during the morning services in synagogue by all male participants, and in many
communities by the leader of the afternoon and evening prayers as well. The tallit gadol is usually
woven of wool — especially among Ashkenazim. Some Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Jews use silk
tallitot. The Portuguese Jewish community in The Netherlands has the tradition of decorating the
corners of the Tallit. Today some tallitot are made of polyester and cotton. Tallitot may be of any colour
but are usually white with black, blue or white stripes along the edge. Sizes of tallitot vary, and are a
matter of custom and preference. Some are large enough to cover the whole body while others hang
around the shoulders, the former being more common among Orthodox Jews, the latter among
Conservative, Reform and other denominations. The neckband of the tallit, sometimes woven of silver
or gold thread, is called the atarah which literally means crown but is often referred to as the collar. The
tallit gadol is often kept in a dedicated pouch or cloth bag (often of velvet) which can be quite simple or
ornately decorated.

The tallit gadol is typically either all white, white with black stripes, or white with blue stripes. The all-
white and black-and-white varieties have traditionally been the most common, with the blue-and-white
variety, in the past said to be in remembrance of the blue thread or tekhelet, becoming increasingly
prevalent in recent years among non-Orthodox Jews on account of the association of blue and white
with the State of Israel.[32][33] The all-white variety is customary among Sepharadic communities,
whereas among Ashkenazic communities the tendency is toward white tallitot with black stripes.[34] One
explanation for the significance of the black stripes is that their black color symbolizes the destruction of
the Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews from the land of Israel.[35][36]

In many Jewish communities, the tallit is worn in the synagogue by all men and boys over bar mitzvah
age (and in some communities even younger). Aside from German Jews and Oberlander Jews, men in
most Ashkenazi communities (which comprise the majority of Jews today) start wearing the tallit after
their wedding.

Women

Main article: Tzitzit § Tzitzit for women

In rabbinic law, women are not required to wear a tallit or other forms of tzitzit. The vast majority of
contemporary Orthodox authorities forbid the donning of a tallit by women,[37] although Moshe
Feinstein[38], Joseph Soloveitchik, and Eliezer Melamed approve women wearing tzitzit in private, if their
motivation is "for God's sake" rather than motivated by external movements such as feminism.[39][40][41]
At the gender-segregated sections of the Western Wall, women have been permitted to wear shawls
worn around the neck — but harassed, expelled or arrested for wearing the more traditional garments
outside the segregated men's section.[42]

Women in non-Orthodox (Reform, Conservative, Karaite, Reconstructionist and others) are not
prohibited from wearing a tallit, and usually encouraged to do so, especially when called to the Torah or
leading services from the bimah. Women in Conservative Judaism began to revive the wearing of the
tallit in the 1970s, usually using colors and fabrics distinct from the traditional garment worn by men, in
the spirit of (but not necessarily out of adherence to) the contemporary Orthodox rulings regarding
women not wearing "male-style" garments.[43] It has become common in Reform and other non-
Orthodox streams for girls to receive a tallit at their bat mitzvah,[44][45] although some do not
subsequently wear it on a regular basis.[46] Other women have adopted the tallit later in life, including
the larger, traditional style, to connect with their communities, embody egalitarian values, or create a
personalized connection to Judaism.[46][47] It is rare for women to wear a tallit katan.[48]