With regard to the languages spoken in Judea during the time of Jesus, it must be remembered that Jesus spent his early life in Galilee, and that there were marked differences, in external conditions and in the general character of the population, between Galilee and Judea.
Judea was the central stronghold of everything Jewish, in the strict sense of the word. Galilee, on the other hand, as its original name "Galilee of the Gentiles" was more diverse in character and population. In the time of Jesus, Galilee was densely populated and was full of bustling life. There were settlers from the neighboring cities of Phoenicia, Greek colonists, and Roman officers and soldiers. There were also wanderers, from the wild deserts of the East, along with travelers from Syria and Arabia, passing to and fro.
Everywhere there was life, there was stir, there was energy, And Jesus, moving among these divergent elements, found a readier audience for his word.
The population of Galilee was mixed, but at this time was predominantly Jewish. According to the Talmud, the Galileans were quarrelsome, but they were said to have possessed certain good qualities. Widows in Galilee were well treated. Because of the diversity of the population, there were certain differences in marriage and funeral customs. However, while the Galileans were strict in their religious observances, they were not particularly fond of the dialectical methods which were so assiduously cultivated in Judea.
On the other hand, they were adepts to the whole field of Haggadah, which included everything non-legalistic, such as tales, parables, sermons, etc. Indeed, according to the Jewish scholar Geiger, the origin of the Haggadah must be ascribed to the Galileans. It is interesting to note that the Galilean pronunciation, especially of the gutturals, is ridiculed in the Talmud, as it is noticed in the Gospels (see Matthew 26:73) and by rabbinical enactment no Galilean could act as reader of public prayers.
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Galilee (/ˈɡælɪliː/;[1] Hebrew: הַגָּלִיל, romanized: hagGālīl; Latin: Galilaea;[2] Arabic: الجليل, romanized: al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (הגליל העליון, ha-galil ha-elyon; الجليل الأعلى, al-jalīl al-aʾlā) and Lower Galilee (גליל תחתון, galil tahton; الجليل الأسفل, al-jalīl al-asfal).
Galilee refers to all of the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and south of the east–west section of the Litani River. It extends from the Israeli coastal plain and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea with Acre in the west, to the Jordan Rift Valley to the east; and from the Litani in the north plus a piece bordering on the Golan Heights all the way to Dan at the base of Mount Hermon in the northeast, to Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa in the south.
This definition includes the plains of the Jezreel Valley north of Jenin and the Beth Shean Valley, the valley containing the Sea of Galilee, and the Hula Valley. It usually does not include Haifa's immediate northern suburbs. By this definition it overlaps with much of the administrative Northern District of Israel and with Southern Lebanon.
Etymology
The region's Hebrew name is Hebrew: גָּלִיל, romanized: gālíl, meaning 'district' or 'circle'.[3] The Hebrew form used in Book of Isaiah 9:1 (or 8:23 in different Biblical versions) is in the construct state, leading to Hebrew: גְּלִיל הַגּוֹיִם, romanized: gəlil haggóyim "Galilee of the nations", which refers to gentiles who settled there at the time the book was written, either by their own volition or as a result of the resettlement policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.[3]
Borders and geography
The borders of Galilee, split into Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee, were described by Josephus in his The Jewish War:[4]
Most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700 m. Several high mountains are in the region, including Mount Tabor and Mount Meron, which have relatively low temperatures and high rainfall. As a result of this climate, flora and fauna thrive in the region. At the same time, many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the Hula–Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter mainly in Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and colourful wildflowers, as well as numerous towns of biblical importance, make the region a popular tourist destination.
Due to its high rainfall 900–1,200 millimetres (35–47 in), mild temperatures and high mountains (Mount Meron's elevation is 1,000–1,208 m), the upper Galilee region contains some distinctive flora and fauna: prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), Lebanese cedar (Cedrus libani), which grows in a small grove on Mount Meron, cyclamens, paeonias, and Rhododendron ponticum which sometimes appears on Meron.
Western Galilee (Hebrew: גליל מערבי, romanized: Galil Ma'aravi) is a modern term referring to the western part of the Upper Galilee and its shore, and usually also the northwestern part of the Lower Galilee, mostly overlapping with Acre sub-district. Galilee Panhandle is a common term referring to the "panhandle" in the east that extends to the north, where Lebanon is to the west, and includes Hula Valley and Ramot Naftali mountains of the Upper Galilee.
History
Iron Age and Hebrew Bible
According to the Bible, Galilee was named by the Israelites and was the tribal region of Naphthali and Dan, at times overlapping the Tribe of Asher's land.[6] Normally,[when?] Galilee is just referred to as "Naphthali".
1 Kings 9 states that Solomon rewarded his Phoenician ally, King Hiram I of Sidon, with twenty cities in the land of Galilee, which would then have been either settled by foreigners during and after the reign of Hiram or by those who had been forcibly deported there by later conquerors such as the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Hiram, to reciprocate previous gifts given to David, accepted the upland plain among the Naftali Mountains and renamed it "the land of Cabul" for a time.[7]
In the Iron Age II, Galilee was part of the Kingdom of Israel, which fell to the Assyrians. Archaeological survey conducted by Zvi Gal in Lower Galilee indicates that the area became deserted following the Assyrian conquest in the 8th century and remained so for several centuries; the local Israelite population was carried off to Assyria after 732 BCE.[8][9] Yardenna Alexandre discovered minor short-lived Israelite settlements in the Naḥal Ẓippori basin, which were built by survivors of the Assyrian conquest. Elsewhere, Galilee was depopulated.[10] But there is evidence of Assyrian presence, based on artefacts in Cana,[11] and Konrad Schmid and Jens Schroter believe it was likely that Assyrians settled in the region.[12]
Hellenistic period
Up until the end of the Hellenistic period and before the Hasmonean conquest, the Galilee was sparsely populated, with the majority of its inhabitants concentrated in large fortified centers on the edges of the western and central valleys. Based on archeological evidence from Tel Anafa, Kedesh, and ash-Shuhara, the Upper Galilee was then home to a pagan population with close ties to the Phoenician coast.[13]
Hasmonean period
During the expansion of the Hasmonean kingdom of Judea, much of the Galilee region was conquered and annexed by the first Hasmonean king Aristobulus I (104–103 BCE). Following the Hasmonean conquest, there was a significant Jewish influx into the area. Sites including Yodfat, Meiron, Sepphoris, Shikhin, Qana, Bersabe, Zalmon, Mimlah, Migdal, Arbel, Kefar Hittaya, and Beth Ma'on have archeological-chronological evidence for this settlement wave.[13]
Josephus, who based his account on Timagenes of Alexandria, claimed that Aristobulus I had forcibly converted the Itureans to Judaism while annexing a portion of their territory. Schürer believed this information to be accurate and came to the conclusion that the "Jewish" Galilee of Jesus' day was actually inhabited by the offspring of those same Iturean converts. Other scholars have suggested that the Itureans underwent a voluntary conversion to Judaism in the Upper Galilee, or at the very least in the Eastern Upper Galilee. However, archeological information does not support either proposal, as Iturean material culture has been identified clearly in the northern Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, and not in the Galilee, and it is clear that this area remained outside Hasmonean borders.[13]
Roman period
In the early Roman period, Galilee was predominantly Jewish. Archaeological evidence from multiple sites reveals Jewish customs, including the use of limestone vessels, ritual baths for purity, and secondary burial practices.[14] A significant wave of Jewish settlement arrived in the region following the Roman conquest of 63 BCE.[13] Large towns such as Kefar Hananya, Parod, Ravid, Mashkaneh, Sabban, and Tiberias were established by the end of the first century BCE or the start of the first century CE.[13] By the end of the first century CE, the Galilee was dotted with small towns and villages. While Josephus writes there were 204 small towns, modern scholars consider this an exaggeration.
Galilee's economy under Roman rule thrived on a combination of agriculture, fishing, and specialized crafts. Excavations in villages like Nazareth have revealed extensive agricultural infrastructure, including numerous olive presses and granaries.[14] Olive was extensively grown in parts of Upper Galilee.[15] Many towns and villages, particularly those around the Sea of Galilee benefited from both fertile land and a thriving fishing industry.[14] In Tarichaea (Magdala), salted, dried, and pickled fish were significant export goods.[14][15] Galilee also had specialized production centers.[14] Shihin, near Sepphoris, produced most of the region's storage jars. Kefar Hananya in Upper Galilee manufactured various tableware forms, supplying markets across Galilee, the Golan Heights, the Decapolis, coastal areas, and the Beth Shean Valley.[14]
Josephus describes the Jewish population of Galilee as being nationalist and hostile to Jewish city-dwellers, making them the first target for the Romans during the Jewish-Roman wars. Bargil Pixner believes they descended from a Davidic Jewish clan from Babylon.[11] But according to archaeological and literary evidence, upper and lower Galilee were 'very much in constant touch with the gentile, Greek-speaking cities that surrounded them.' Many Galileans were bilingual and made daily contacts with Jerusalem and gentiles around the Roman territory.[16]
Markus Cromhout states that while Galileans, Judeans and diasporic Judeans were all Jewish, the Galileans had their unique social, political and economic matrix. In terms of ethnicity, Galileans were ethnic Judeans, which generally saw themselves also as Israelites, but could be also identified with localized characteristics, such as Sepphorean.[17] Others argue that Galileans and Judeans were distinct people groups. Outsiders generally conflated them due to Hellenistic-Roman culture, which grouped all diverse groups in Palestine and their related diasporas as "Judean".[18]
In 4 BCE, a rebel named Judah plundered Galilee's largest city, Sepphoris. According to Josephus, the Syrian governor Publius Quinctilius Varus responded by sacking Sepphoris and selling the population into slavery, but the region's archaeology lacks evidence of such destruction.[20][21] After the death of Herod the Great that same year, his son Herod Antipas was appointed as tetrarch of Galilee by the Roman emperor Augustus. Galilee remained a Roman client state and Antipas paid tribute to the Roman Empire in exchange for Roman protection.[19]
The Romans did not station troops in Galilee, but threatened to retaliate against anyone who attacked it. As long as he continued to pay tribute, Antipas was permitted to govern however he wished[19] and was permitted to mint his own coinage. Antipas was relatively observant of Jewish laws and customs. Although his palace was decorated with animal carvings, which many Jews regarded as a transgression against the law prohibiting idols, his coins bore only agricultural designs, which his subjects deemed acceptable.[citation needed]
In general, Antipas was a capable ruler. Josephus does not record any instance of his use of force to put down an uprising and he had a long, prosperous reign. However, many Jews probably resented him as not sufficiently devout.[19] Antipas rebuilt the city of Sepphoris,[21] and in either 18 CE or 19 CE, he founded the new city of Tiberias. These two cities became Galilee's largest cultural centers.[19] They were the main centers of Greco-Roman influence, but were still predominantly Jewish. A massive gap existed between the rich and poor,[21] but lack of uprisings suggest that taxes were not exorbitantly high and that most Galileans did not feel their livelihoods were being threatened.[19]
Late in his reign, Antipas married his half-niece Herodias, who was already married to one of her other uncles. His wife, whom he divorced, fled to her father Aretas, an Arab king, who invaded Galilee and defeated Antipas's troops before withdrawing. Both Josephus and the Gospel of Mark[22] record that the itinerant preacher John the Baptist criticized Antipas over his marriage, and Antipas consequently had him imprisoned and then beheaded.[19] In around 39 CE, at the urging of Herodias, Antipas went to Rome to request that he be elevated from the status of tetrarch to the status of king. The Romans found him guilty of storing arms, so he was removed from power and exiled, ending his forty-three-year reign. During the Great Revolt (66–73 CE), a Jewish mob destroyed Herod Antipas's palace.[19]
Overall, Galilee under Antipas's rule was marked by significant demographic instability. Diseases like malaria were rampant, internal migration between urban and rural areas were frequent and women generally gave birth at young ages while married to older men. Birth control, including infanticide, was not practiced. Many young men, especially marginal villagers, migrated to urban areas to find wives or alternatively, employment. Finding wives was presumed to be competitive since widows often refused to marry past the age of 30 compared to widowers. According to Jonathan L. Reed, this can provide insight on the tropes of New Testament literature, such as miraculous healings and the itinerant lifestyle of Jesus and his disciples.[23]
In 66 CE, during the Great Jewish Revolt, Josephus was appointed by the Jerusalem provisional government to command Galilee. The region experienced internal conflicts among cities such as Sepphoris and Tiberias, with factions opposing Josephus's authority and warring for control. Sepphoris and other strong cities attempted to remain neutral by maintaining alliances with Rome. Despite opposition, Josephus managed to secure internal peace and fortified nineteen cities in preparation for the Roman invasion; nearly half of them were uncovered by archaeologists. In 67 CE, the Roman army, led by general Vespasian, arrived in Acre. Josephus's account, The Jewish War, details the Roman campaign in Galilee, starting with the siege and capture of Gabara, followed by Jotapata (where Josephus was captured), and continuing with Tiberias, Taricheae, Gamala, Tabor, and ending in Gischala. While not all of Galilee was devastated, the conquered cities were razed, and many inhabitants were sold into slavery.[9]
Late Roman period
Judaism reached its political and cultural zenith in the Galilee during the late second and early third century CE. According to rabbinic sources, Judah ha-Nasi's political leadership was at its strongest in relation to the Jewish community in Syria Palaestina, the Diaspora, and the Roman Authorities during this time. Judah's redaction of the Mishnah at this time period represented the peak of intense cultural activity. Archaeological surveys in the Galilee have revealed that the region experienced its height of thriving settlement during this time.[13]
According to medieval Hebrew legend, Shimon bar Yochai, one of the most famed of all the tannaim, wrote the Zohar while living in Galilee.[24]
Byzantine period
After the completion of the Mishnah, which marked the conclusion of the tannaitic era, came the period of the amoraim. The Jerusalem Talmud, the principal work of the amoraim in Palestine, is primarily discussions and interpretations of the Mishnah, and according to academic research, most of it was edited in Tiberias. The vast majority of the amoraim named there, as well as the majority of the settlements or place names referenced, were Galileans.[13] By the middle of the fourth century, the Jerusalem Talmud's compilation and editing processes abruptly came to a halt, as Talmudic scholar Yaacov Sussmann put it: "The development of the Jerusalem Talmud seems to have abruptly ceased, as if severed by a sharp and sudden blade".[25][13]
Demographically, during the fourth century the entire region witnessed a significant population decrease, resulting in the abandonment of several notable settlements.[13] In approximately 320 CE, Christian bishop Epiphanius reported that all the major cities and villages in Galilee were entirely Jewish.[26] During the Byzantine period, however, Galilee's Jewish population experienced a decline, while Christian settlement grew. Archaeological data indicates that in the third and fourth centuries, several Jewish sites were abandoned, and some Christian villages were established on or near these deserted locations. Certain settlements, such as Rama, Magdala, Kafr Kanna, Daburiyya, and Iksal, which were materially Jewish during the Roman period, were now predominantly inhabited by Christians or had a significant Christian population. Safrai and Liebner argue that the decline of the Jewish population and the expansion of the Christian population in the region were separate events that happened at different times. Throughout this period, religious segregation between Christian and Jewish villages endured, with few exceptions like Capernaum and perhaps Nazareth, due to their sanctity in Christian tradition.[13]
Leibner has proposed tying the end of the Palestinian Amoraic period, the impact of historical occurrences like the Christianization of the Roman Empire and of Palestine, the apparent cessation of activities of at least some of the batei midrash and the transformation of the Galilee from a densely populated Jewish area to a collection of communities surrounded by non-Jewish areas to this demographic crisis. He assumed that Christian population in Galilee was not composed of Jews who converted to Christianity. This is supported by the fact that trustworthy historical records, which mention Jewish conversion to Christianity in Byzantine Palestine, refer to individual cases rather than entire villages, unlike the records from the western part of the empire.[13]
Eastern Galilee retained a Jewish majority until at least the seventh century.[27] Over time, this area experienced a decline in population due to raids by nomadic groups and insufficient protection from the central government.[28]
Early Muslim and Crusader periods
After the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, the Galilee formed part of Jund al-Urdunn (the military district of Jordan), itself part of Bilad al-Sham (Islamic Syria). Its major towns were Tiberias the capital of the district, Qadas, Beisan, Acre, Saffuriya, and Kabul.[29] During the early Islamic period, Galilee underwent a process of Arabization and Islamization, similar to other areas in the region. Under Umayyad rule, Islamic rule was gradually consolidated in newly conquered territories, and some Muslims settled in the villages, establishing residency there.[30] Later, under Abbasid rule, geographer al-Ya'qubi (d. 891), who referred to the region as 'Jabal al-Jalil', noted that its inhabitants were Arabs from the Amila tribe.[31]
The Islamization process in which began with the settlement of nomadic tribes. Michael Ehrlich suggests that during the Early Islamic period, the majority of people in the Western Galilee and Lower Galilee likely converted to Islam, while in the Eastern Galilee, the Islamization process continued for a more extended period, lasting until the Mamluk period.[32] According to Moshe Gil, Jews in rural Galilean areas frequently succeeded in upholding community life during and for decades after the Umayyad period. He comes to the conclusion that several Galilean Jewish communities "retained their ancient character".[30]
The Shia Fatimids conquered the region in the 10th century; a breakaway sect, venerating the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, formed the Druze religion, centered in Mount Lebanon and partially in the Galilee. During the Crusades, Galilee was organized into the Principality of Galilee, one of the most important Crusader seigneuries.[citation needed] According to Moshe Gil, during the periods of Fatimid and Crusader rule, the rural Jewish population of Galilee experienced a gradual decline and flight. He supports his argument by referring to 11th-century Cairo Geniza documents related to transactions in Ramla and other areas in central Palestine, where Jews claimed to have ancestral ties to places like Gush Halav, Dalton, or 'Amuqa, suggesting that Jewish flight from Galilee occurred during that time.[30]
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods
Sunni Muslims began to immigrate to Safed and its surroundings starting in the Ayyubid period, and in particular during the Mamluk period. These immigrants included Sufi preachers who were crucial in converting the locals to Islam in Safed's rural area. Jewish immigrants did, however, come to the area in waves, during the period of the destruction of Tyre and Acre in 1291 and particularly after the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492. These immigrants, who included scholars and other urban elites, turned the Jewish community from a rural community into an urban hub which exerted its influence well beyond the regional boundaries of Upper Galilee.[32]
Ottoman era
During Early Ottoman era, the Galilee was governed as the Safad Sanjak, initially part of the larger administrative unit of Damascus Eyalet (1549–1660) and later as part of Sidon Eyalet (1660–1864). During the 18th century, the administrative division of Galilee was renamed to Acre Sanjak, and the Eyalet itself became centered in Acre, factually becoming the Acre Eyalet between 1775 and 1841.
The Jewish population of Galilee increased significantly following their expulsion from Spain and welcome from the Ottoman Empire. The community for a time made Safed an international center of cloth weaving and manufacturing, as well as a key site for Jewish learning.[33] Today it remains one of Judaism's four holy cities and a center for kabbalah.
In the mid-17th century Galilee and Mount Lebanon became the scene of the Druze power struggle, which came in parallel with much destruction in the region and decline of major cities.
In the mid-18th century, Galilee was caught up in a struggle between the Arab leader Zahir al-Umar and the Ottoman authorities who were centred in Damascus. Zahir ruled Galilee for 25 years until Ottoman loyalist Jezzar Pasha conquered the region in 1775.
In 1831, the Galilee, a part of Ottoman Syria, switched hands from Ottomans to Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt until 1840. During this period, aggressive social and politic policies were introduced, which led to a violent 1834 Arab revolt. In the process of this revolt the Jewish community of Safed was greatly reduced, in the event of Safed Plunder by the rebels. The Arab rebels were subsequently defeated by the Egyptian troops, though in 1838, the Druze of Galilee led another uprising. In 1834 and 1837, major earthquakes leveled most of the towns, resulting in great loss of life.
Following the 1864 Tanszimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire, the Galilee remained within Acre Sanjak, but was transferred from Sidon Eyalet to the newly formed Syria Vilayet and shortly, from 1888, became administered from Beirut Vilayet.
In 1866, Galilee's first hospital, the Nazareth Hospital, was founded under the leadership of American-Armenian missionary Dr. Kaloost Vartan, assisted by German missionary John Zeller.
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In the early 20th century, Galilee remained part of Acre Sanjak of Ottoman Syria. It was administered as the southernmost territory of the Beirut Vilayet.
British administration
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and the Armistice of Mudros, it came under British rule, as part of the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration. Shortly after, in 1920, the region was included in the British Mandate territory, officially a part of Mandatory Palestine from 1923.
Modern Israeli period
After the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, nearly the whole of Galilee came under Israel's control. A large portion of the population fled or was forced to leave, leaving dozens of entire villages empty; however, a large Israeli Arab community remained based in and near the cities of Nazareth, Acre, Tamra, Sakhnin, and Shefa-'Amr, due to some extent to a successful rapprochement with the Druze. The kibbutzim around the Sea of Galilee were sometimes shelled by the Syrian army's artillery until Israel seized Western Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War.
During the 1970s and the early 1980s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) launched multiple attacks on towns and villages of the Upper and Western Galilee from Lebanon. This came in parallel to the general destabilization of Southern Lebanon, which became a scene of fierce sectarian fighting which deteriorated into the Lebanese Civil War. On the course of the war, Israel initiated Operation Litani (1979) and Operation Peace For Galilee (1982) with the stated objectives of destroying the PLO infrastructure in Lebanon, protecting the citizens of the Galilee and supporting allied Christian Lebanese militias. Israel took over much of southern Lebanon in support of Christian Lebanese militias until 1985, when it withdrew to a narrow security buffer zone.
From 1985 to 2000, Hezbollah, and earlier Amal, engaged the South Lebanon Army supported by the Israel Defense Forces, sometimes shelling Upper Galilee communities with Katyusha rockets. In May 2000, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak unilaterally withdrew IDF troops from southern Lebanon, maintaining a security force on the Israeli side of the international border recognized by the United Nations. The move brought a collapse to the South Lebanon Army and takeover of Southern Lebanon by Hezbollah. However, despite Israeli withdrawal, clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continued along the border, and UN observers condemned both for their attacks.
The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict was characterized by round-the-clock Katyusha rocket attacks (with a greatly extended range) by Hezbollah on the whole of Galilee, with long-range, ground-launched missiles hitting as far south as the Sharon Plain, Jezreel Valley, and Jordan Valley below the Sea of Galilee.
Demography
In 2006, there were 1.2 million residents in Galilee, of whom 47% were Jewish.[34] The Jewish Agency has attempted to increase the Jewish population in this area,[35] but the non-Jewish population also has a high growth rate.[34]
The largest cities in the region are Acre, Nahariya, Nazareth, Safed, Karmiel, Shaghur, Shefa-'Amr, Afula, and Tiberias.[36] The port city of Haifa serves as a commercial center for the whole region.
Because of its hilly terrain, most of the people in the Galilee live in small villages connected by relatively few roads.[37] A railroad runs south from Nahariya along the Mediterranean coast, and a fork to the east was opened in 2016. The main sources of livelihood throughout the area are agriculture and tourism. Industrial parks are being developed, bringing further employment opportunities to the local population which includes many recent immigrants. The Israeli government is contributing funding to the private initiative, the Galilee Finance Facility, organised by the Milken Institute and Koret Economic Development Fund.[38]
The Galilee is home to a large Arab population,[39][40] with a Muslim majority and two smaller populations, of Druze and Arab Christians, of comparable sizes. Both Israeli Druze and Christians have their majorities in the Galilee.[41][42] Other notable minorities are the Bedouin, the Maronites and the Circassians.
The north-central portion of the Galilee is also known as Central Galilee, stretching from the border with Lebanon to the northern edge of the Jezreel Valley. It includes the cities of Nazareth and Sakhnin, has an Arab majority of 75%, with most of the Jewish population living in hilltop cities like Upper Nazareth. The northern half of the central Lower Galilee, surrounding Karmiel and Sakhnin, is known as the "Heart of the Galilee".
The eastern Galilee is nearly 100% Jewish. This part includes the Finger of the Galilee, the Jordan River Valley, and the shores the Sea of Galilee, and contains two of Judaism's Four Holy Cities.
The southern part of the Galilee, including Jezreel Valley, and the Gilboa region are nearly 100% Jewish, with a few small Arab villages near the West Bank border. About 80% of the population of the Western Galilee is Jewish, all the way up to the Lebanese border. Jews form a small majority in the mountainous Upper Galilee, with a significant minority Arab population, mainly Druze and Christians.
As of 2011, the Galilee is attracting significant internal migration of Haredi Jews, who are increasingly moving to the Galilee and Negev as an answer to rising housing prices in central Israel.[43]
Tourism
Galilee is a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists who enjoy its scenic, recreational, and gastronomic offerings. The Galilee attracts many Christian pilgrims, as many of the miracles of Jesus occurred, according to the New Testament, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee—including his walking on water, calming the storm, and feeding five thousand people in Tabgha. Numerous sites of biblical importance are located in the Galilee, such as Megiddo, Jezreel Valley, Mount Tabor, Hazor, Horns of Hattin, and more.
A popular hiking trail known as the yam leyam, or sea-to-sea, starts hikers at the Mediterranean. They then hike through the Galilee mountains, Tabor, Neria, and Meron, until their final destination, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).
In April 2011, Israel unveiled the Jesus Trail, a 40-mile (60-km) hiking trail in the Galilee for Christian pilgrims. The trail includes a network of footpaths, roads, and bicycle paths linking sites central to the lives of Jesus and his disciples, including Tabgha, the traditional site of Jesus's miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the Mount of Beatitudes, where he delivered his Sermon on the Mount. It ends at Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus espoused his teachings.[44]
Many kibbutzim and moshav families operate Zimmerim, from the Yiddish word for 'room', צימער, from 'Zimmer' in German, with the Hebrew ending for plural, -im; the local term for a Bed and breakfast. Numerous festivals are held throughout the year, especially in the autumn and spring holiday seasons. These include the Acre (Acco) Festival of Alternative Theater,[45] the olive harvest festival, music festivals featuring Anglo-American folk, klezmer, Renaissance, and chamber music, and Karmiel Dance Festival.
Cuisine
The cuisine of the Galilee is very diverse. The meals are lighter than in the central and southern regions. Dairy products are heavily consumed, especially the Safed cheese that originated in the mountains of the Upper Galilee. Herbs like thyme, mint, parsley, basil, and rosemary are very common with everything, including dips, meat, fish, stews and cheese. In the eastern part of the Galilee, there is freshwater fish as much as meat, especially the Tilapia that lives in the Sea of Galilee, Jordan river, and other streams in the region.
Fish is filled with thyme and grilled with rosemary to flavor, or stuffed with oregano leaves, then topped with parsley and served with lemon to squash. This technique exists in other parts of the country including the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. A specialty of the region is a baked Tilapia flavored with celery, mint and a lot of lemon juice. Baked fish with tahini is also common in Tiberias. The coastal Galileans prefer to replace the tahini with yogurt and add sumac on top.
The Galilee is famous for its olives, pomegranates, wine and especially its Labneh w'Za'atar which is served with pita bread, meat stews with wine, pomegranates and herbs such as akub, parsley, khalmit, mint, fennel, etc. are common. Galilean kubba is usually flavored with cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, concentrated pomegranate juice, onion, parsley and pine nuts and served as meze with tahini dip.
Kebabs are made almost in the same way, with sumac replacing cardamom and with carob sometimes replacing the pomegranate juice. Because of its climate, beef has become more popular than lamb, although both are still eaten there. Dates are popular in the tropical climate of the Eastern Galilee.
Subregions
The definition of Galilee varies depending on the period, author, and point of view (geological, geographical, administrative). Ancient Galilee consisted in broad terms of the Upper and Lower Galilee. Today the northwestern part of the Upper Galilee is in Southern Lebanon, with the rest being in Israel. The Israeli Galilee is often divided into these subregions, which often overlap:
- Upper Galilee extends from the Beit HaKerem Valley northwards into southern Lebanon. Its eastern border is the Hula Valley and the Sea of Galilee separating it from the Golan Heights. To the west it reaches to the Coastal Plain which separates it from the Mediterranean.
- Lower Galilee covers the area north of the Valleys (Jezreel, Harod and Beth Shean Valley) and south of the Beit HaKerem Valley. Its borders to the east on the Jordan Rift Valley. It contains the Arab city of Nazareth and the village of Cana.
- The "Galilee Panhandle" (Hebrew: אצבע הגליל, Etzba HaGalil, lit. "Finger of Galilee") is a panhandle along the Hulah Valley, squeezed between the Lebanese border and the Golan Heights; it contains the towns of Metulla and Qiryat Shemona, the Dan and part of the Banias rivers.
The following subregions are sometimes regarded, from different points of view, as distinct from the Galilee, for instance the entire Jordan Valley including the Sea of Galilee and its continuation to the south as one geological and geographical unit, and the Jezreel, Harod, and Beit She'an valleys as "the northern valleys".
- The Hula Valley
- The Korazim Plateau
- The Sea of Galilee and its valley
- The Jordan Valley from the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee down to Beit She'an
- The Jezreel Valley, including in its eastern part, the Harod Valley, which stretches between Afula and the Beit She'an Valley
- The Beit She'an Valley at the junction of the Jordan Valley and the extended Jezreel Valley
- Mount Gilboa
- The Western Galilee is a modern Israeli term, which in its minimal definition refers to the coastal plain just west of the Upper Galilee, also known as Plain of Asher or Plain of the Galilee, which stretches from north of Acre to Rosh HaNikra on the Israel-Lebanon border, and in the common broad definition adds the western part of Upper Galilee, and usually the northwestern part of Lower Galilee as well, corresponding more or less to Acre sub-district or the Northern District.
Gallery
See also
References
- ^ "Galilee". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- ^ Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1879), s.v. Galilaea.
- ^ a b Room, Adrian (2006). Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites (2nd, revised ed.). McFarland. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7864-2248-7. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ Jürgen Zangenberg; Harold W. Attridge; Dale B. Martin (2007). Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-3-16-149044-6.
- ^ Josephus, J. BJ 3.35
- ^ "Map of the Twelve Tribes of Israel | Jewish Virtual Library". jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
- ^ Rawlinson, George (1889). "Phoenicia under the hegemony of Tyre (B.C. 1252–877)". History of Phoenicia.
- ^ Zvi Gal, Lower Galilee during the Iron Age (American Schools of Oriental Research Dissertation Series 8; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1992), p. 108
- ^ a b Jensen, M. H. (2014). The Political History in Galilee from the First Century BCE to the end of the Second Century CE. Galilee in the late Second Temple and Mishnaic periods. Volume 1. Life, culture and society, pp. 51–77
- ^ Yardenna Alexandre (2020). "The Settlement History of Nazareth in the Iron Age and Early Roman Period". 'Atiqot. 98. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ a b Skinner, Andrew C. (1996–1997). "A Historical Sketch of Galilee". Brigham Young University Studies. 36 (3): 113–125. JSTOR 43044121.
- ^ Schmid, Konrad; Schroter, Jens (2021). The Making of the Bible: From the First Fragments to Sacred Scripture. Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0674248380.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Leibner, Uzi (2009). Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee: An Archaeological Survey of the Eastern Galilee. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 321–324, 362–371, 396–400, 414–416. hdl:20.500.12657/43969. ISBN 978-3-16-151460-9.
- ^ a b c d e f Chancey, Mark Alan; Porter, Adam Lowry (2001). "The Archaeology of Roman Palestine". Near Eastern Archaeology. 64 (4): 180. doi:10.2307/3210829. ISSN 1094-2076. JSTOR 3210829.
- ^ a b Schwartz, Seth (2006), Katz, Steven T. (ed.), "Political, social, and economic life in the Land of Israel, 66–c. 235", The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period, The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol. 4, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 38–39, doi:10.1017/chol9780521772488.003, ISBN 978-0-521-77248-8, retrieved 2023-03-31
- ^ Charlesworth, Scott D. (2016). "The Use of Greek in Early Roman Galilee: The Inscriptional Evidence Re-examined". Journal for the Study of the New Testament. 38 (3): 356–395. doi:10.1177/0142064X15621650 – via SageJournals.
- ^ Cromhout, Markus (2008). "Were the Galileans "religious Jews" or "ethnic Judeans?"". HTS Theological Studies. 64 (3) – via Scielo.
- ^ Elliott, John (2007). "Jesus the Israelite Was Neither a 'Jew' Nor a 'Christian': On Correcting Misleading Nomenclature". Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 5 (2): 119–154. doi:10.1177/1476869007079741 – via Academia.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sanders, E. P. (1993). The Historical Figure of Jesus. London, New York, Ringwood, Australia, Toronto, Ontario, and Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-0-14-014499-4.
- ^ Eric M. Meyers,'Sepphoris on the Eve of the Great Revolt (67–68 C.E.): Archaeology and Josephus,' in Eric M. Meyers,Galilee Through the Centuries: Confluence of Cultures, Eisenbrauns, 1999 pp.109ff., p. 114: (Josephus, Ant. 17.271–87; War 2.56–69).
- ^ a b c d Casey, Maurice (2010). Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching. New York City, New York and London, England: T & T Clark. pp. 164–169. ISBN 978-0-567-64517-3.
- ^ Bible, Mark 6:17–29
- ^ Reed, Jonathan L. (2010). "Instability in Jesus' Galilee: A Demographic Perspective". Journal of Biblical Literature. 129 (2): 343–365. doi:10.2307/27821023. JSTOR 27821023.
- ^ Scharfstein, S. (2004). Jewish History and You. Ktav Pub. Inc. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-88125-806-6. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
- ^ Sussmann 1990: 67–103
- ^ Epiphanius, Panarion 30.11.9–10
- ^ Leibner, Uzi, Settlement and Demography in Late Roman and Byzantine Eastern Galilee
- ^ Tramontana, Felicita (2014). "Chapter V Conversion and change in the distribution of the Christian Population". Passages of Faith: Conversion in Palestinian villages (17th century) (1st ed.). Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 114. doi:10.2307/j.ctvc16s06.10. ISBN 978-3-447-10135-6. JSTOR j.ctvc16s06.
- ^ Le Strange, Guy. (1890) Palestine Under the Moslems pp. 30–32.
- ^ a b c Silver, M. M. (2021). The history of Galilee, 47 BCE to 1260 CE : from Josephus and Jesus to the crusades. Lanham, Maryland. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-7936-4945-4. OCLC 1260170710.
- ^ Strange, le, G. (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 77.
- ^ a b Ehrlich, Michael (2022). The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634–1800. Leeds, UK: Arc Humanities Press. pp. 59–75. ISBN 978-1-64189-222-3. OCLC 1302180905.
- ^ "The Jewish Agency for Israel". jafi.org.il. Archived from the original on 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
- ^ a b Ofer Petersburg (December 12, 2007). "Jewish population in Galilee declining". Ynet. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- ^ "30 settlements planned for Negev and Galilee". 2003-08-08. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ "Places To Visit In Israel". govisitisrae. Archived from the original on 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^ "Galilee in Jesus' Time Was a Center of Change". Ancient History. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^ Matthew Krieger (November 19, 2007). "Gov't expected to join financing of huge northern development project". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
- ^ Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2013). "Localities and Population, by Group, District, Sub-district and Natural Region" (PDF). Statistical Abstract of Israel (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
- ^ "In Galilee, Israeli Arabs finding greener grass in Jewish areas". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Nov 3, 2008. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^ Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2013). "Sources of Population Growth, by District, Population Group and Religion" (PDF). Statistical Abstract of Israel (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
- ^ Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2002). The Arab Population in Israel (PDF) (Report). Statistilite. Vol. 27. sec. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ Peteresburg, Ofer (23 February 2011). "Haredim 'taking over'". Ynetnews. Israel Business, ynetnews.com. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
- ^ Daniel Estrin, Canadian Press (April 15, 2011). "Israel unveils hiking trail in Galilee for Christian pilgrims". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
- ^ "Acco Festival". accofestival.co.il. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Galilee". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
Further reading
- Aviam, M., "Galilee: The Hellenistic to Byzantine Periods," in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 2 (4 vols) (Jerusalem: IES / Carta), 1993, 452–58.
- Meyers, Eric M. (ed), Galilee through the Centuries: Confluence of Cultures (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999) (Duke Judaic Studies 1).
- Chancey, A.M., Myth of a Gentile Galilee: The Population of Galilee and New Testament Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) (Society of New Testament Monograph Series 118).
- Aviam, M., "First-century Jewish Galilee: An archaeological perspective," in Edwards, D.R. (ed.), Religion and Society in Roman Palestine: Old Questions, New Approaches (New York / London: Routledge, 2004), 7–27.
- Aviam, M., Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Galilee (Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press, 2004) (Land of Galilee 1).
- Chancey, Mark A., Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 134).
- Freyne, Sean, "Galilee and Judea in the First Century," in Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (eds), Cambridge History of Christianity. Vol. 1. Origins to Constantine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) (Cambridge History of Christianity), 163–94.
- Zangenberg, Jürgen, Harold W. Attridge and Dale B. Martin (eds), Religion, Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition (Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007) (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 210).
- Fiensy, David A., "Population, Architecture, and Economy in Lower Galilean Villages and Towns in the First Century AD: A Brief Survey," in John D. Wineland, Mark Ziese, James Riley Estep Jr. (eds), My Father's World: Celebrating the Life of Reuben G. Bullard (Eugene (OR), Wipf & Stock, 2011), 101–19.
- Safrai, Shmuel, "The Jewish Cultural Nature of Galilee in the First Century" The New Testament and Christian–Jewish Dialogue: Studies in Honor of David Flusser, Immanuel 24/25 (1990): 147–86; electronically published on jerusalemperspective.com.
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The Haggadah (Hebrew: הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to recount the Egyptian Exodus story to their children on the first night of Passover.
History
[edit]Authorship
[edit]According to Jewish tradition, the Haggadah developed during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, although the exact timeframe is unknown. It is unlikely that it was assembled before the time of Judah bar Ilai (c. 170 CE), the latest tanna quoted therein. It is usually assumed that a set text did not exist prior to a crucial dispute about the Haggadah's arrangement recorded in the Babylonian Talmud. The Vilna edition of the Talmud identifies the participants in that dispute as Abba Arika and Samuel of Nehardea (c. 230 CE)[1], but the later was more likely Rava (c. 280-352 CE).[2][3] From a statement of Rav Nachman, it appears he was aware of a set Haggadah text,[4] but there is a dispute about which Rav Nachman the Talmud referred to, Rav Nachman bar Yaakov (c. 280 CE),[5] or Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak (c. 360 CE).[6] A minority of commentators, including Naftali Maskil LeAison, author of the Malbim Haggadah,[7] believe that the Haggadah's text was already complete at the time of Abba Arika and Samuel and that they were arguing about the Haggadah's interpretation rather than its arrangement. The Malbim Haggadah theorizes that the Haggadah was written by the compiler of the Mishnah, Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (c. 135-217 CE).[7]
One of the most ancient parts is the recital of the "Hallel", which, according to the Mishnah (Pesachim 5:7), was sung at the sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem, and of which, according to the school of Shammai, only the first chapter shall be recited. After the Psalms a blessing for the Redemption is to be said. This blessing, according to Rabbi Tarfon, runs as follows: "Praised art Thou, O Lord, King of the Universe, who hast redeemed us, and hast redeemed our fathers from Egypt."[citation needed]
Another part of the oldest ritual, as is recorded in the Mishnah, is the conclusion of the "Hallel" (up to Psalms 118), and the closing benediction of the hymn "Birkat ha-Shir", which latter the Amoraim explain differently,[8] but which evidently was similar to the benediction thanking God, "who loves the songs of praise," used in the present ritual.[citation needed]
These blessings, and the narrations of Israel's history in Egypt, based on Deuteronomy 26:5–9 and on Joshua 24:2–4, with some introductory remarks, were added in the time of the early Amoraim in the third century CE.[citation needed]
In post-Talmudic times, during the era of the Geonim, selections from midrashim were added; most likely Rabbi Amram Gaon (c. 850) was the originator of the present collection, as he was the redactor of the daily liturgy in the siddur. Of these midrashim one of the most important is that of the four children, representing four different attitudes towards why Jews should observe Passover. This division is taken from the Jerusalem Talmud[9] and from a parallel passage in the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael;[10][11] it is slightly altered in the present ritual. Other rabbinic quotes from the aggadah literature are added, as the story of Eliezer ben Hurcanus, who discussed the Exodus all night with four other rabbis, which tale is found in an altogether different form in the Tosefta.[citation needed]
While the main portions of the text of the Haggadah have remained mostly the same since their original compilation, there have been some additions after the last part of the text. Some of these additions, such as the cumulative songs "One little goat" (חד גדיא) and "Who Knows One?" (אחד מי יודע), which were added sometime in the fifteenth century, gained such acceptance that they became a standard to print at the back of the Haggadah.[citation needed]
The text of the Haggadah was never fixed in one, final form, as no rabbinic body existed which had authority over such matters. Instead, each local community developed its own text. A variety of traditional texts took on a standardized form by the end of the medieval era on the Ashkenazi (Eastern European) and Sephardi (Spanish, North African, and Middle Eastern) communities.[citation needed]
The Karaites[12][13] and also the Samaritans developed their own Haggadot which they use to the present day.[14]
During the era of the Enlightenment the European Jewish community developed into groups that reacted in different ways to modifications of the Haggadah.[citation needed]
- Orthodox Judaism accepted certain fixed texts as authoritative and normative, and prohibited any changes to the text.
- Modern Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism allowed for minor additions and deletions to the text, in accord with the same historical-legal parameters as occurred in previous generations. Rabbis within the Conservative Judaism, studying the liturgical history of the Haggadah and Siddur, conclude that there is a traditional dynamic of innovation, within a framework conserving the tradition. While innovations became less common in the last few centuries due to the introduction of the printing press and various social factors, Conservative Jews take pride in their community's resumption of the traditional of liturgical creativity within a halakhic framework.[citation needed]
- Reform Judaism holds that there are no normative texts, and allowed individuals to create their own Haggadot. Reform Jews take pride in their community's resumption of liturgical creativity outside a halakhic framework.[citation needed]
Manuscript history
[edit]The oldest surviving complete manuscript of the Haggadah dates to the 10th century. It is part of a prayer book compiled by Saadia Gaon. It is now believed that the Haggadah first became produced as an independent book in codex form around 1000 CE.[15] Maimonides (1135–1204) included the Haggadah in his code of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah. Existing manuscripts do not go back beyond the thirteenth century. When such a volume was compiled, it became customary to add poetical pieces.
The earliest surviving Haggadot produced as works in their own right are manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Golden Haggadah (probably Barcelona c. 1320, now British Library) and the Sarajevo Haggadah (late fourteenth century). Other significant medieval illustrated haggadot are the Birds' Head Haggadah and the Washington Haggadah.
It is believed that the first printed Haggadot were produced in 1482, in Guadalajara, Spain; however, this is mostly conjecture, as there is no printer's colophon. The oldest confirmed printed Haggadah was printed in Soncino, Lombardy in 1486 by the Soncino family.
Although the Jewish printing community was quick to adopt the printing press as a means of producing texts, the general adoption rate of printed Haggadot was slow. By the end of the sixteenth century, only twenty-five editions had been printed. This number increased to thirty-seven during the seventeenth century, and 234 during the eighteenth century. It is not until the nineteenth century, when 1,269 separate editions were produced, that a significant shift is seen toward printed Haggadot as opposed to manuscripts. From 1900 to 1960 alone, over 1,100 Haggadot were printed.[16] It is not uncommon, particularly in America, for haggadot to be produced by corporate entities, such as coffee maker Maxwell House – see Maxwell House Haggadah – serving as texts for the celebration of Passover, but also as marketing tools and ways of showing that certain foods are kosher.[17]
Illuminated manuscripts
[edit]
The earliest Ashkenazi illuminated Haggada is known as the Birds' Head Haggadah,[18] made in Germany around the 1320s and now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.[19] The Rylands Haggadah (Rylands Hebrew MS. 6) is one of the finest Haggadot in the world. It was written and illuminated in Spain in the 14th century and is an example of the cross-fertilisation between Jewish and non-Jewish artists within the medium of manuscript illumination. In spring and summer 2012 it was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in the exhibition 'The Rylands Haggadah: Medieval Jewish Art in Context'.[20][21]
The British Library's 14th century Barcelona Haggadah (BL Add. MS 14761) is one of the most richly pictorial of all Jewish texts. Meant to accompany the Passover eve service and festive meal, it was also a status symbol for its owner in 14th-century Spain. Nearly all its folios are filled with miniatures depicting Passover rituals, Biblical and Midrashic episodes, and symbolic foods. A facsimile edition was published by Facsimile Editions of London in 1992.
Published in 1526, the Prague Haggadah is known for its attention to detail in lettering and for introducing many of the themes still found in modern texts. Although illustrations had often been a part of the Haggadah, it was not until the Prague Haggadah that they were used extensively in printed text. The Haggadah features over sixty woodcut illustrations picturing "scenes and symbols of the Passover ritual; ... biblical and rabbinic elements that actually appear in the Haggadah text; and scenes and figures from biblical or other sources that play no role in the Haggadah itself, but have either past or future redemptive associations".[22]
Other illuminated Haggadot include the Sarajevo Haggadah, Washington Haggadah, and the 20th-century Szyk Haggadah.
Passover Seder according to the Haggadah
[edit]Kadeish (blessings and the first cup of wine)
[edit]Kadeish is the Hebrew imperative form of Kiddush.[23] This Kiddush is a blessing similar to that which is recited on all of the pilgrimage festivals, but also refers to matzot and the exodus from Egypt. Acting in a way that shows freedom and majesty, many Jews have the custom of filling each other's cups at the Seder table. The Kiddush is traditionally said by the father of the house, but all Seder participants participate by reciting the Kiddush and drinking at least a majority of a cup of wine. On Shabbat, it is preceded by a reading from the Book of Genesis recounting God's rest on the seventh day of creation and includes an extended doxology on the blessings of Shabbat.
Ur'chatz (wash hands)
[edit]Partakers wash their hands in preparation for eating wet fruit and vegetables, which happens in the next stage. Technically, according to Jewish law, whenever one partakes of fruit or vegetables dipped in liquid, one must wash one's hands, if the fruit or vegetable remains wet.[24] However, this situation does not often arise at other times of the year because either one will dry fruits and vegetables before eating them, or one has already washed one's hands, because one must also wash one's hands before eating bread.
According to most traditions, no blessing is recited at this point in the Seder, unlike the blessing recited over the washing of the hands before eating bread. However, followers of Rambam or the Gaon of Vilna do recite a blessing.
Karpas
[edit]Each participant dips a sprig of parsley or similar leafy green into either salt water (Ashkenazi custom said to serve as a reminder of the tears shed by their enslaved ancestors), vinegar (Sephardi custom) or charoset (older Sephardi custom; still common among Yemenite Jews).[25]
Yachatz (breaking of the middle matzah)
[edit]Three matzot are stacked on the seder table; at this stage, the middle matzah of the three is broken in half.[26] According to the custom of the Vilna Gaon and others, only two matzot are used, and the top one is broken.[27] The larger piece is hidden, to be used later as the afikoman, the "dessert" after the meal. The smaller piece is returned to its place between the other two matzot.
Magid (relating the Exodus)
[edit]The story of Passover, and the change from slavery to freedom is told.[28] At this point in the Seder, Sefardic Jews (North African) have a custom of raising the Seder plate over the heads of all those present while chanting: Moroccan Jews sing "Bivhilu yatzanu mimitzrayim, halahma anya b'nei horin" (In haste we went out of Egypt [with our] bread of affliction, [now we are] free people), Algerian Jews sing "Ethmol 'ayinu abadim, hayom benei 'horin, hayom kan, leshana habaa bear'a deYisrael bene 'horin" (Yesterday we were slaves, today we are free, today we are here -in exile-, next year we will be in Israel free".
Ha Lachma Anya (invitation to the Seder)
[edit]
The matzot are uncovered, and referred to as the "bread of affliction". Participants declare in Aramaic an invitation to all who are hungry or needy to join in the Seder. Halakha requires that this invitation be repeated in the native language of the country.
Ma Nishtanah (The Four Questions)
[edit]The Mishnah details questions one is obligated to ask on the night of the Seder. It is customary for the youngest child present to recite the four questions.[29] Some customs hold that the other participants recite them quietly to themselves as well. In some families, this means that the requirement remains on an adult "child" until a grandchild of the family receives sufficient Jewish education to take on the responsibility. If a person has no children capable of asking, the responsibility falls to the spouse, or another participant.[30] The need to ask is so great that even if a person is alone at the seder he is obligated to ask himself and to answer his own questions.[30]
Why is this night different from all other nights?
- Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either leavened bread or matza, but on this night we eat only matza?
- Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs?
- Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip [our food] even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
- Why is it that on all other nights we dine either sitting upright or reclining, but on this night we all recline?
Avadim Hayinu
[edit]The opening line of Maggid following the Four Questions reads: עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם, וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה, We were slaves (Avadim Hayinu) to Pharoah in Egypt, and the Lord our God took us out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. This is not a scriptual verse, but rather a combination of two verses from Deuteronomy, 6:12 (which precedes the question of the Wise Son), and 5:15 (part of the Ten Commandments).[31][32] A respona of Natronai Gaon mentions that this traditional opening sentence is not in the Torah, drawing the objection of Karaites.[33] According to the Scholar's Haggadah, the intentional mistranslation of Deuteronomy 6:12 in the Septuagint, the 3rd century BCE Greek translation of the Torah, makes specific reference to Avadim Hayinu.[34]
The Four Sons
[edit]The traditional Haggadah speaks of "four sons—one who is wise, one who is wicked, one who is simple, and one who does not know to ask".[35] The number four derives from the four passages in the Torah where one is commanded to explain the Exodus to one's son.[36] Each of these sons phrases his question about the seder in a different way. The Haggadah recommends answering each son according to his question, using one of the three verses in the Torah that refer to this exchange.[37]
The wise son asks "What are the statutes, the testimonies, and the laws that God has commanded you to do?" One explanation for why this very detailed-oriented question is categorized as wise, is that the wise son is trying to learn how to carry out the seder, rather than asking for someone else's understanding of its meaning. He is answered fully: You should reply to him with [all] the laws of pesach: one may not eat any dessert after the paschal sacrifice.
The wicked son, who asks, "What is this service to you?", is characterized by the Haggadah as isolating himself from the Jewish people, standing by objectively and watching their behavior rather than participating. Therefore, he is rebuked by the explanation that "It is because God acted for my sake when I left Egypt." (This implies that the Seder is not for the wicked son because the wicked son would not have deserved to be freed from Egyptian slavery.) Where the four sons are illustrated in the Haggadah, this son has frequently been depicted as carrying weapons or wearing stylish contemporary fashions.
The simple son, who asks, "What is this?" is answered with "With a strong hand the Almighty led us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage."
And the one who does not know to ask is told, "It is because of what the Almighty did for me when I left Egypt."
Some modern Haggadot mention "children" instead of "sons", and some have added a fifth child. The fifth child can represent the children of the Shoah who did not survive to ask a question[38] or represent Jews who have drifted so far from Jewish life that they do not participate in a Seder.[39]
"Go and learn"
[edit]Four verses in Deuteronomy (26:5–8) are then expounded, with an elaborate, traditional commentary. ("5. And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my parent, and they went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7. And we cried unto the LORD, the God of our parents, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.")
The Haggadah explores the meaning of those verses, and embellishes the story. This telling describes the slavery of the Jewish people and their miraculous salvation by God. This culminates in an enumeration of the Ten Plagues:
- Dam (blood) – All the water was changed to blood
- Tzefardeyah (frogs) – An infestation of frogs sprang up in Egypt
- Kinim (lice) – The Egyptians were afflicted by lice
- Arov (wild animals) – An infestation of wild animals (some say flies) sprang up in Egypt
- Dever (pestilence) – A plague killed off the Egyptian livestock
- Sh'chin (boils) – An epidemic of boils afflicted the Egyptians
- Barad (hail) – Hail rained from the sky
- Arbeh (locusts) – Locusts swarmed over Egypt
- Choshech (darkness) – Egypt was covered in darkness
- Makkat Bechorot (killing of the first-born) – All the first-born sons of the Egyptians were slain by God
With the recital of the Ten Plagues, each participant removes a drop of wine from his or her cup using a fingertip. Although this night is one of salvation, the sages explain that one cannot be completely joyous when some of God's creatures had to suffer. A mnemonic acronym for the plagues is also introduced: "D'tzach Adash B'achav", while similarly spilling a drop of wine for each word.
At this part in the Seder, songs of praise are sung, including the song Dayenu, which proclaims that had God performed any single one of the many deeds performed for the Jewish people, it would have been enough to obligate us to give thanks. After this is a declaration (mandated by Rabban Gamliel) of the reasons of the commandments concerning the Paschal lamb, matzah, and maror, with scriptural sources. Then follows a short prayer, and the recital of the first two psalms of Hallel (which will be concluded after the meal). A long blessing is recited, and the second cup of wine is drunk.
Rachtzah (ritual washing of hands)
[edit]The ritual hand-washing is repeated, this time with all customs including a blessing.[40]
Motzi Matzah (blessings over the Matzah)
[edit]Two blessings are recited.[41] First one recites the standard blessing before eating bread, which includes the words "who brings forth" (motzi in Hebrew).[42] Then one recites the blessing regarding the commandment to eat Matzah. An olive-size piece (some say two) is then eaten while reclining.
Maror (bitter herbs)
[edit]The blessing for the eating of the maror (bitter herbs) is recited and then it is dipped into the charoset and eaten.[42][43]
Koreich (sandwich)
[edit]The maror is placed between two small pieces of matzo, similarly to how the contents of a sandwich are placed between two slices of bread, and eaten.[44] This follows the tradition of Hillel, who did the same at his Seder table 2,000 years ago (except that in Hillel's day the Paschal sacrifice, matzo, and maror were eaten together.)
Shulchan Orech (the meal)
[edit]
The festive meal is eaten.[45] Traditionally it begins with the charred egg on the Seder plate.[46]
Tzafun (eating of the afikoman)
[edit]The afikoman, which was hidden earlier in the Seder, is traditionally the last morsel of food eaten by participants in the Seder.[47]
Each participant receives an at least olive-sized portion of matzo to be eaten as afikoman. After the consumption of the afikoman, traditionally, no other food may be eaten for the rest of the night. Additionally, no intoxicating beverages may be consumed, with the exception of the remaining two cups of wine.
Bareich (Grace after Meals)
[edit]The recital of Birkat Hamazon.[48]
Kos Shlishi (the Third Cup of Wine)
[edit]The drinking of the Third Cup of Wine.
Note: The Third Cup is customarily poured before the Grace after Meals is recited because the Third Cup also serves as a Cup of Blessing associated with the Grace after Meals on special occasions.
In many traditions, the front door of the house is opened at this point. Psalms 79:6–7 is recited in both Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions, plus Lamentations 3:66 among Ashkenazim.
Most Ashkenazim have the custom to fill a fifth cup at this point. This relates to a Talmudic discussion that concerns the number of cups that are supposed to be drunk. Given that the four cups are in reference to the four expressions of redemption in Exodus 6:6–7, some rabbis felt that it was important to include a fifth cup for the fifth expression of redemption in Exodus 6:8. All agreed that five cups should be poured but the question as to whether or not the fifth should be drunk, given that the fifth expression of redemption concerned being brought into the Land of Israel, which—by this stage—was no longer possessed of an autonomous Jewish community, remained insoluble. The rabbis determined that the matter should be left until Elijah comes (in reference to the notion that Elijah's arrival would precipitate the coming of the Messiah, at which time all halakhic questions will be resolved) and the fifth cup came to be known as the Kos shel Eliyahu ("Cup of Elijah"). Over time, people came to relate this cup to the notion that Elijah will visit each home on Seder night as a foreshadowing of his future arrival at the end of the days, when he will come to announce the coming of the Jewish Messiah.
In the late 1980s, Jewish feminists introduced the idea of placing a "Cup of Miriam" filled with water (to represent the well that existed as long as Miriam, Moses' sister, was alive in the desert) beside the Cup of Elijah. Many liberal Jews now include this ritual at their seders as a symbol of inclusion.[49]
Hallel (songs of praise)
[edit]The entire order of Hallel which is usually recited in the synagogue on Jewish holidays is also recited at the Seder table, albeit sitting down.[50] The first two psalms, 113 and 114, are recited before the meal. The remaining psalms 115–118, are recited at this point (in the Hallel section, after Bareich). Psalm 136 (the Great Hallel) is then recited, followed by Nishmat, a portion of the morning service for Shabbat and festivals.
There are a number of opinions concerning the paragraph Yehalelukha which normally follows Hallel, and Yishtabakh, which normally follows Nishmat. Most Ashkenazim recite Yehalelukha immediately following the Hallel proper, i.e. at the end of Psalm 118, except for the concluding words. After Nishmat, they recite Yishtabakh in its entirety. Sephardim recite Yehalelukha alone after Nishmat. The minhag of the French Jews in the Middle Ages, as well as Italian Jews until fairly recently was to recite both blessings.[51]
Afterwards the Fourth Cup of Wine is drunk and a brief Grace for the "fruit of the vine" is said. In some Ashkenazic communities following in the tradition of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, the fourth cup is not drunk until after the recitation of some of the piyyutim of Nirtzah.[52]
Nirtzah
[edit]The Seder concludes with a prayer that the night's service be accepted.[53] A hope for the Messiah is expressed: "L'Shana Haba'ah b'Yerushalayim! – Next year in Jerusalem!" Jews in Israel, and especially those in Jerusalem, recite instead "L'shanah haba'ah b'Yerushalayim hab'nuyah! – Next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem!"
Although the 15 orders of the Seder have been completed, the Haggadah concludes with additional songs which further recount the miracles that occurred on this night in Ancient Egypt as well as throughout history. Some songs express a prayer that the Beit Hamikdash will soon be rebuilt. The last song to be sung is Chad Gadya ("One Kid [young goat]"). This seemingly childish song about different animals and people who attempted to punish others for their crimes and were in turn punished themselves, was interpreted by the Vilna Gaon as an allegory of the retribution God will levy over the enemies of the Jewish people at the end of days.
Following the Seder, those who are still awake may recite the Song of Songs, engage in Torah learning, or continue talking about the events of the Exodus until sleep overtakes them.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Pesachim 116a:11". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ Guggenheimer, Heinrich (1995). The Scholar's Haggadah: Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Oriental Versions. Northvale NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-7657-6040-1.
- ^ Kasher, Menachem (1967). Hagadah Shelemah. Jerusalem, Israel: Torah Shelema Institute. p. 22.
- ^ "Pesachim 116a:12". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ See Tosafot Bava Batra 46b, who states that every time the Talmud says Rav Nachman it is Rav Nachman bar Yaakov
- ^ See Rashi
- ^ a b Taub, Jonathan; Shaw, Yisroel (1993). The Malbim Haggadah. Targum Press. ISBN 978-1-56871-007-5. Cite error: The named reference ":0" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Pesachim 116a
- ^ Pesachim 34b
- ^ Lauterbach, Jacob Z, "The Mekhilta: Halakhic Midrash on Exodus", My Jewish Learning, retrieved 12 March 2022
- ^ Farber, Zev (2019), "The Four Sons: How the Midrash Developed", www.thetorah.com, retrieved 12 March 2022
- ^ Hagadah Ḳaraimtsa ṿe-Rustsa = Povi͡estvovanīe na Paskhu po-karaimski i po-russki, Abraham Firkowitsch, Vilʹna : Tip. I. T͡Sīonsona, 1907
- ^ Passover Haggadah according to the custom of the Karaite Jews of Egypt / [Hagadah shel Pesaḥ : ke-minhag ha-Yehudim ha-Ḳaraʼim] = Passover haggadah : according to the custom of the Karaite Jews of Egypt, edited by Y. Yaron; translation by A. Qanai̤, Pleasanton, CA: Karaite Jews of America, 2000
- ^ זבח קרבן הפסח : הגדה של פסח, נוסח שומרוני (Samaritan Haggada & Pessah Passover / Zevaḥ ḳorban ha-Pesaḥ : Hagadah shel Pesaḥ, nusaḥ Shomroni = Samaritan Haggada & Pessah Passover), Avraham Nur Tsedaḳah, Tel Aviv, 1958
- ^ Mann, Vivian B., "Observations on the Biblical Miniatures in Spanish Haggadot", p.167, in Exodus in the Jewish Experience: Echoes and Reverberations, Editors, Pamela Barmash, W. David Nelson, 2015, Lexington Books, ISBN 1-4985-0293-8, 978-1498502931, google books
- ^ Yerushalmi pp. 23–24
- ^ Cohen, Anne (23 March 2013). "101 Years of the Maxwell House Haggadah". Forward.com. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Letter to the Editor". Commentary Magazine. August 1969. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "Birds' Head Haggadah, Germany, 1300". Jerusalem: The Israel Museum. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ^ "Rylands Haggadah in New York; John Rylands University Library". Library.manchester.ac.uk. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ "Hebrew manuscripts; the John Rylands Library". Library.manchester.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ Yerushalmi p. 34
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Maaseh Rav 191.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Judaism 101: Pesach Seder: How is This Night Different". Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ a b Talmud Bavli, Pesachim, 116a
- ^ Ben Harush, Eliyahu (1938). Haggadah Kos Eliyahu. Djerba.
- ^ Rovner, Jay Evan (2024). In every generation: studies in the evolution and formation of the Passover Haggadah. Judaism in context. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-4632-4376-0.
- ^ Safrai, Shmuel; Safrai, Ze'ev (1998). Haggadah of the Sages. Jerusalem, Israel: Carta Jerusalem. ISBN 9652207063.
- ^ Guggenheimer, Heinrich (1998). The Scholar's Haggadah: Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Oriental Versions. Northvale NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7657-6040-1.
- ^ It is very probable that already during the confrontation with the pharaoh the case of the four sons was presented: the wicked is by definition the Pharaoh since he does not want to accept neither God nor His word; the wise is clearly Mosheh, defined precisely also Mosheh Rabbenu, "Mosheh, our Master"; who must be initiated is Job: it is said that Job's fault, precisely in the historical period of the Exodus, was that of having been silent during the rebellion of the Pharaoh against the two leaders of the Jewish people Mosheh and Aaron. Thus Aaron: he is simple in that with facilitated investigative capacity...
- ^ Bazak, Rav Amnon. "The Four Sons". Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash. David Silverberg (trans.). Alon Shvut, Israel: Yeshivat Har Etzion. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "The Four Children - Jewish Tradition". yahadut.org. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ "CSJO: Fifth Child". Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations. Retrieved 18 October 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "The Fifth Son". Chabad.org. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ a b Scherman, Nosson; Zlotowitz, Meir, eds. (1994) [1981]. The Family Haggadah. Mesorah Publications, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-89906-178-8.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Chabad.org: 11. Shulchan Orech – set the table". Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Eisenberg, Joyce; Scolnic, Ellen (2006). Dictionary of Jewish Words. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Jewish Publication Society. p. 108.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ See Machzor Kimcha De-Avishuna from 1540 according to the Italian rite. In modern Italian haggadot, the Ashkenazic practice has been adopted.
- ^ See the Rodelheim Haggadah.
- ^ "Mercava". Mercava. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
Bibliography
[edit]- Schneerson, Rabbi Menachem M. (1946), Haggadah for Passover with Collected Customs and Reasons: Kehot Publication Society
- Scherman, Rabbi Nosson and Zlotowitz, Rabbi Meir, Artscroll youth haggadah: Mesorah Publications (ISBN 0-89906-232-6)
- Yerushalmi, Yosef Hayim (1974). Haggadah and History. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 978-0-8276-0046-1.
- Mishkin, Edwin (2010). A Haggadah For The Nonobservant. Raleigh: lulu. ISBN 978-0-557-28494-8.
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Halakha (/hɑːˈlɔːxə/ hah-LAW-khə;[1] Hebrew: הֲלָכָה, romanized: hălāḵā, Sephardic: [halaˈχa]), also transliterated as halacha, halakhah, and halocho (Ashkenazic: [haˈlɔχɔ]), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments (mitzvot), subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic laws, and the customs and traditions which were 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 is derived from the root which means "to behave" (also "to go" or "to walk"). Halakha not only guides religious practices and beliefs; it also guides numerous aspects of day-to-day life.[2]
Historically, widespread observance of the laws of the Torah is first in evidence beginning in the second century BCE.[3] In the Jewish diaspora, halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of law – both civil and religious, since no differentiation of them 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, because it relies on rabbinic interpretation, as opposed to the authoritative, canonical text which is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Under contemporary Israeli law, certain areas of Israeli family and personal status law are, for Jews, under the authority of the rabbinic courts, so they are treated according to halakha. Some minor differences in halakha are found among Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Yemenite, Ethiopian and other Jewish communities which historically lived in isolation.[4]
Etymology and terminology
[edit]
The word halakha is derived from the Hebrew root halakh – "to walk" or "to go".[5]: 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.[6] It may be descended from hypothetical reconstructed Proto-Semitic root *halak- meaning "to go", which also has descendants in Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, and Ugaritic.[7]
Halakha is often contrasted with aggadah ("the telling"), the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical, narrative, philosophical, mystical, and other "non-legal" texts.[6] 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.[8] 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.
According to some scholars, the words halakha and sharia both mean literally "the path to follow". The fiqh literature parallels rabbinical law developed in the Talmud, with fatwas being analogous to rabbinic responsa.[9][10]
Commandments (mitzvot)
[edit]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.[11] Currently, many of the 613 commandments cannot be performed until the building of the Temple in Jerusalem and the universal resettlement of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel by the Messiah. According to one count, only 369 can be kept, meaning that 40% of mitzvot are not possible to perform.[12]
Rabbinic Judaism divides laws into categories:[13][14]
- 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:
- The Written Torah, laws written in the Hebrew Bible.
- 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.[13] 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
[edit]- 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).
- 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.
- The Tannaim ("repeaters") were rabbis living primarily in Eretz Yisrael who codified the Oral Torah in the form of the Mishnah; 0–200 CE.
- 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.
- 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.
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.[15] For example, the first chapter of Bava Kamma, contains a formulation of the law of torts worded in the first person.[5]: 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;
- Talmudic hermeneutics: the science which defines the rules and methods for the investigation and exact determination of the meaning of the Scriptures; also includes the rules from which the Halakhot are derived and which were established by the written law. These may be seen as the rules from which early Jewish law is derived.
- 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:
- Gezeirah ("declaration"): "preventative legislation" of the rabbis, intended to prevent violations of the commandments
- 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,[16] 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.[17]
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
[edit]| Rabbinical eras |
|---|
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 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."[18]
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.[19][20][21]
Views today
[edit]
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.[22]
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."[23]
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.[24]
Some 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.[25]
Flexibility
[edit]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".[26] 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."[27] Given this covenantal 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 on to higher rabbis who will then issue a teshuva, which is a responsa that is binding.[28] 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
[edit]Orthodox Judaism
[edit]
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.[29]
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.[30]
Despite the Orthodox views that halakha was given at Sinai, Orthodox thought (and especially modern Orthodox thought) encourages debate, allows for disagreement, and encourages rabbis to enact decisions based on contemporary needs. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein says in his introduction to his collection of responsa that a rabbi who studies the texts carefully is required to provide a halakhic decision. That decision is considered to be a true teaching, even if it is not the true teaching in according to the heavens.[31] For instance, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik believes that the job of a halakhic decisor is to apply halakha − which exists in an ideal realm−to people's lived experiences.[32] Moshe Shmuel Glasner, the chief rabbi of Cluj (Klausenberg in German or קלויזנבורג in Yiddish) stated that the Oral Torah was an oral tradition by design, to allow for the creative application of halakha to each time period, and even enabling halakha to evolve. He writes:
Conservative Judaism
[edit]
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.[34]
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,[35] permitting women to chant from the Torah,[36] and ordaining women as rabbis.[37]
The Conservative approach to halakhic interpretation can be seen in the CJLS's acceptance of Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz's responsum decreeing the biblical category of mamzer as "inoperative."[38] 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.[38] 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."[39] 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
[edit]
The most important codifications of Jewish law include the following; for complementary discussion, see also History of responsa in Judaism.
- The Mishnah, composed by Judah haNasi, 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.
- An early work, She'iltot ("Questions") by Ahai of Shabha (c. 752) discusses over 190 mitzvot – exploring and addressing various questions on these. The She'iltot was influential on both of the following, subsequent works.
- The first legal codex proper, Halachot Pesukot ("Decided Laws"), by Yehudai ben Nahman (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.)
- Halakhot Gedolot ("Great Law Book"), by Simeon Kayyara, published two generations later (but possibly written c. 743 CE), 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 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 aggadic and ethical material.
- "The Mordechai" – by Mordecai ben Hillel (d. Nuremberg 1298) – serves both as a source of analysis, as well as 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 (Rabbi Isaac Alfasi), it is, in fact, an independent work. It has been printed with every edition of the Talmud since 1482.
- 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.
- 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.
- Yoreh De'ah ("Teach Knowledge"): assorted ritual instructions and prohibitions, dietary laws and regulations concerning menstrual impurity.
- Even Ha'ezer ("The Rock of the Helpmate"): marriage, divorce and other issues in family law.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Yalkut Yosef, by Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, is a voluminous, widely cited and contemporary work of halakha, based on the rulings of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (1920–2013).
- Piskei T'shuvot, by Rabbi Ben-Zion Simcha Isaac Rabinowitz, is a commentary on the Halakhic decrees of Rabbi Yosef Karo in the Orach Chayim section of the Shulchan Aruch and those of Rabbi Yisroel Meir ha-Kohen in the Mishna Berura. Based on the collected opinions of various contemporary Acharonim, it includes practical solutions and instructions for Halakhic issues common to the modern way of life, and is generally oriented towards the decrees of the Hassidic Halakhic authorities.
- P'sakim U'T'shuvot, by Rabbi Aharon Aryeh Katz, the son in law of Rabbi Ben-Zion Simcha Isaac Rabinowitz, is a commentary on the Halakhic decrees of Rabbi Yosef Karo in the Yoreh De'ah section of the Shulchan Aruch, in a format almost identical to that of the Piskei Teshuvot.
- Layman-oriented works of halakha:
- Thesouro dos Dinim ("Treasury of religious rules") by Menasseh Ben Israel (1604–1657) is a reconstituted version of the Shulkhan Arukh, written in Portuguese with the explicit purpose of helping conversos from Iberia reintergrate into halakhic Judaism.[40]
- The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried (Hungary 1804–1886), a "digest", covering applicable Halakha from all four sections of Shulchan Aruch, and reflecting the very strict Hungarian customs of the 19th century. It became immensely popular after its publication due to its simplicity, and is still popular in Orthodox Judaism as a framework for study, if not always for practice. This work is not considered binding in the same way as the Mishneh Torah or Shulchan Aruch.
- Chayei Adam and Chochmat Adam by Avraham Danzig (Poland, 1748–1820) are similar Ashkenazi works; the first covers Orach Chaim, the second in large Yoreh De'ah, as well as laws from Even Ha'ezer and Choshen Mishpat pertinent to everyday life.
- The Ben Ish Chai by Yosef Chaim (Baghdad, 1832–1909) is a collection of the laws on everyday life – parallel in scope to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch – interspersed with mystical insights and customs, addressed to the masses and arranged by the weekly Torah portion. Its wide circulation and coverage has seen it become a standard reference work in Sephardi Halakha.
- Contemporary "series":
- Peninei Halakha by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed. Fifteen volumes thus far, covering 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.
- Tzurba M’Rabanan by Rabbi Benzion Algazi. Six volumes covering 300 topics[41] 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; 15 bilingual translated volumes).
- Nitei Gavriel by Rabbi Gavriel Zinner. Thirty volumes on the entire spectrum of topics in halachah, known for addressing situations not commonly brought in other works, and for delineating the varying approaches amongst the Hasidic branches; for both reasons they are often reprinted.
- 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.
See also
[edit]
- Antinomianism
- Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael
- Jewish ethics
- Jewish medical ethics
- Mishpat Ivri
- Se'if katan
- Sharia
- Theonomy
- We do not rule based on categorical inferences in monetary cases
References
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"Just as science follows the scientific method, Judaism has its own system to ensure authenticity remains intact," said Rabbi Zalman Abraham of JLI's New York headquarters.
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- ^ Kaplan Spitz, p. 577-584.
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- Daniel Pollack ed., Contrasts in American and Jewish Law, Ktav. ISBN 0-88125-750-8
- Emanuel Quint, A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law (11 vols), Gefen Publishing. ISBN 0-87668-765-6, 0-87668-799-0, 0-87668-678-1, 0-87668-396-0, 0-87668-197-6, 1-56821-167-8, 1-56821-319-0, 1-56821-907-5, 0-7657-9969-3, 965-229-322-9, 965-229-323-7, 965-229-375-X
- Emanuel Quint, Jewish Jurisprudence: Its Sources & Modern Applications , Taylor and Francis. ISBN 3-7186-0293-8
- Steven H. Resnicoff, Understanding Jewish Law, LexisNexis, 2012. ISBN 978-1422490204
- Joel Roth, Halakhic Process: A Systemic Analysis, Jewish Theological Seminary. ISBN 0-87334-035-3
- Joseph Soloveitchik, Halakhic Man, Jewish Publication Society trans. Lawrence Kaplan. ISBN 0-8276-0397-5
- . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
- Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
Further reading
[edit]- Dorff, Elliot N.; Rosett, Arthur (1988). A Living Tree: The Roots and Growth of Jewish Law. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. ISBN 0-88706-459-0.
- Neusner, Jacob (1974–1977). A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Part I–XXII.
- Neusner, Jacob (1979–1980). A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Part I–VI. Reprint: Eugene, Or: Wipf and Stock Publ., 2007, ISBN 1-55635-349-9
- Neusner, Jacob (1979–1980). A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Part I–V.
- Neusner, Jacob (1981–1983). A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Part I–V.
- Neusner, Jacob (1983–1985). A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages. Leiden: E. J.Brill. Part I–V.
- Neusner, Jacob (2000). The Halakhah: An Encyclopaedia of the Law of Judaism. The Brill Reference Library of Judaism. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 9004116176
- Vol. 1: Between Israel and God. Part A. Faith, Thanksgiving, Enlandisement: Possession and Partnership.
- Vol. 2: Between Israel and God. Part B. Transcendent Transactions: Where Heaven and Earth Intersect.
- Vol. 3: Within Israel’s Social Order.
- Vol. 4: Inside the Walls of the Israelite Household. Part A. At the Meeting of Time and Space. Sanctification in the Here and Now: The Table and the Bed. Sanctification and the Marital Bond. The Desacralization of the Household: The Bed.
- Vol. 5: Inside the Walls of the Israelite Household. Part B. The Desacralization of the Household: The Table. Foci, Sources, and Dissemination of Uncleanness. Purification from the Pollution of Death.
- Neusner, Jacob, ed. (2005). The Law of Agriculture in the Mishnah and the Tosefta. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
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73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” 74 Then he began to [a]curse and [b]swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”
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