Jewish tradition speaks of a miracle, which could ignite the candlestick of the Temple for eight consecutive days with a tiny amount of oil. This gave rise to the main custom of the feast, which is the lighting, progressively, a nine-branched candelabrum called januquiá.

Historical origin

The holiday of Hanukah is from the time of Hellenic hegemony in Israel, which began with the conquest of Alexander the year 332 A.C., as written in the biblical books I and II of Maccabees, though not referred to it in the Tanakh Hebrew. A group of Jews known as the Maccabees (as their leader was Judah Maccabee ), from the area of Modi'in , began to revolt against the Greeks soldiers, refusing to carry out acts that went against their own religion. They had a hard fight, and were a minority against the Greek army, but their strategy, determination and faith led them to the miracle of Hanukah: a few winning against many.

The Feast of Winter

The Talmud and the Midrash Rabbah also suggest another source for the holiday. According to these sources, Hanukkah is a manifestation of the festival of winter solstice, which is when the days shorten. The Talmud tells the stories of Adam, the first man, who was put in the sun for the first time in his life and panicked, and connect this story with the winter solstice festival.

Origins

The number of synagogues grew to establish a public reading of the Torah. In 70 at the time of being besieged and destroyed by the legions of Titus, Jerusalem had about 400 synagogues. These houses of assembly were not specially constructed as worship buildings, a local simply served as a meeting place, but there were also large buildings for this purpose.

These ancient synagogues were administered by a notable or a council of three remarkable. The explanation of the sacred text was reserved for a rabbi or a faithful versed in the knowledge of the Mosaic Law (ie, transmitted by Moses ). Synagogues are generally oriented toward Jerusalem. In the background is a closet or tabernacle, the holy ark ( hejal in Sephardic or Aron HaKodesh in Ashkenazi ), which contains the scrolls of the law ( Torah ).

Practices

Before the tabernacle hanged a lamp constantly burning in remembrance of the eternal light (Ner Tamid) shining in the Jerusalem Temple. A candle, evokes the famous candelabrum (menorah) of the Temple. A table desk, placed on a platform, serves as the altar on the reading the Torah. In Sephardic synagogues, it is there for the officiant. In the Ashkenazi synagogues, the officiant stands on an easel in front of the chest or side of it which is called " Amud ".

The kippah – or any other hat, or garment that covers all or part of the head – is compulsory to enter and remain in certain places of Jewish worship as synagogues, cemeteries and sacred places or at times of prayer, celebration and study of canon law. Observant Jewish men, however, wear a kippah all day and on every occasion.

The kippah is a tightly woven fabric or wool, and today manufactures use a wide variety of colors, sizes and designs to suit all tastes, situations and trends. Still, the style that is still used for celebrations is white kippah worn on the Shabbat, holidays and weddings, and a black kippah when mourning. It is possible to locate a practicing Jew within a certain branch or stream of Judaism, based on color, size or material of the kippah.

Its origins

The custom of wearing a kippah is not from a precept or commandment itself, unlike the ritual tallit shawl, or tefillin , or phylacteries, although it has been entrenched with the passing of centuries, about to become one of the most emblematic attributes of Judaism. Still, its origins are equally ancient, dating back to the Talmud, symbolizing the need to keep in mind at all times that God is above men and things; and that the head should not be discovered before God.

In the service of the Jerusalem Temple priests Cohanim were forbidden to work bare-headed, this is one of the origins of this custom.

Etymology and origins

Derived from the Hebrew word Sabbath Shavat. Although often translated as 'rest' or 'rest', another translation of these words is 'stop work'. The concept of active cessation of work is also considered more consistent with an omnipotent God's activity on the seventh day of creation.

In the version of the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the word "remember" (Zakhor) is replaced by "care" (shamor) . From this we learn two main elements of the observance of the Sabbath: to remember and honor through rituals and pleasant things, and care by refraining from prohibited work on that day.

Violation of the Sabbath

When the Israelites were held captive by the Babylonians, they believed it was divine retribution for some grievous sin, and assumed that was the violation of the Shabbat ( the Book of Jeremiah 17:19-27). Like Jeremiah, the prophet Ezekiel lamented in his day because Saturday was largely ignored. By scrutinizing the future, Isaiah foresaw the conversion of the Gentiles and promised a blessing for those who keep the Sabbath. After the captivity, the Jews fell back into disrepair over the Sabbath, and Nehemiah urged a reform in order to promote such observance ( Nehemiah 10:31-13:15-22).

The body of law called the Mishnah, is the basis of Jewish law and oral rabbinic traditions, which together with the Torah, make up the halacha. In turn, the Mishnah was expanded with commentary for three centuries by the sages of Babylon , the Gemara – in both the original Mishnah and Gemara exegesis and they jointly received the name of Talmud.

Structure of the Mishnah

The Mishna is written in short verses way in Hebrew, called mishnayot, which classify, summarize and consolidate the numerous oral laws developed and discussed by the sages of the time, and the Tanaim with the same meaning as Mishnah. The mishnayot are grouped into 527 chapters and each of these sections are called masejtot.

Compiled together, they make up the six books of the Mishnah called the Seder that cover all the Halache. These books are the Zeraim, with rules related to land work; the Mo'ed, contain law on Jewish holidays, fasts and the Shabbat; the Nashim, with laws related to marital life; the Nezkim, compilimg halacha related to civil and commercial laws; the Kodashi, containing religious laws of the Temple of Jerusalem; and the Teharot, precepting the rituals of purification of the body.

Both versions of the Talmud, the Jerusalem and Babylonian are also sorted in the order of the six aforementioned books.

Origins

Originally the oral law was transmitted from one generation to the next orally, without having any written version to the public, although private notes were wise. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of economic and political decline of the Jewish community in Israel continuity of oral transmission was in danger, so Rabbi Yehuda the Prince made the writing of the Mishnah written around AD 200 was.

Several rabbinic academies in Israel and in Babylon were dedicated to the study and discussion of the Mishna. These discussions, were then compiled in a written form called the Gemara. There are two editions of the Gemara, that of Jerusalem which was finalized in written form at around 400 AD, and that of Babylon, whose final collection was carried out by Ravina and Rav Ashi, two V-century scholars AD.

Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi

Rather than a single Talmud, there are two versions: the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi) , which was drafted in the newly created province Roman called Philistines and the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) , which was written in the region of Babylon . Both were written over centuries by many generations of rabbis in rabbinic academies of antiquity.

Its historical value, however, is challenged by the scientific and academic worlds who see it as an anthology of myths. It contains, according to Jewish tradition, 613 commandments and includes, in addition to the written, an oral dimension, later compiled in the Talmud and midrashic literature.

The Torah, in the heart of Judaism

The Torah is the document around which Judaism is built: it is the source of all biblical commands within an ethical framework. The ceremony of bar mitzvah is based on the reading of the Parasha. According to Jewish tradition, these books were revealed to Moses by God, part of Mount Sinai.

Written Torah and oral Torah

According Rabbanites Jews, descendants of the Pharisees, Orthodox Jews maintain accurate ideology, an oral law was given to the people at the same time as the written law as suggested many verses, including Exodus 25:40. It was probably at the base, explanations of such a word, discussion of this idea in one verse, but in any case closely linked to the written law, and supplementing it. This desire to remember the words of the masters went from hand to hand with scrupulous accuracy in compliance and enforcement.

The main characteristic of the Aggadah, as a scriptural exegesis is to draw non-legislative teachings from the Bible. In addition to its role in the formation of Jewish folklore , the Aggadah becomes, because of its size and its relative narrative license, the breeding ground for Jewish creativity in its various literary forms, from philosophy to the Kabbalah and liturgical poetry.

Origins and development of Aggadah

Even though the origins of the midrashic exegesis trace back to the time of creation of the Bible and a large number of trigger events for the Aggadah are found, the development of the exegesis aggadic only occurred in the eras of the Talmud and of the Mishna, 100 and 500 EC respectively.

The Aggadah in the era of the Mishnah

In the era of the Mishna, Haggadah was a term that was considered as equal to the Aggadah in the Sages’ language, and meant any analysis of the Bible verses for a reason other than to draw laws and is still separate from the moral lessons and parables already but aims to make education more vivid: one example being the Passover Haggadah, meant to highlight points in the bible that did not appear at the first reading.

In Community law

Historically, the Halakha served as a pillar and cement in many Jewish communities, governed by its civil and religious rules. With the advent of the modern era, and its corollary, the "separation of church and state," it was no longer followed, only on a voluntary basis, with the exception of the modern state of Israel which, being a "Jewish state" is based on some of these points for some areas of family and personal status, including marriage laws and divorce.

Diversity of the halakha

Due to the great diversity among Jewish communities, different approaches to Halakha are found among the Ashkenazi , Sephardic , Oriental and Yemeni Jews and in communities of less importance. However, while communities outside of Western Europe long remained attached to the law and traditions, Ashkenazi communities were divided on the mandatory nature of the Halakha and the role of the past and tradition in its development. Emerged in the current Orthodox , Conservative , Reformed and Reconstructionist Judaism.

Origin

The Torah says that Jethro advised Moses to delegate most of his judicial power to a courts and act only as a supreme judge. He did so quickly. One of the commandments of God recounted in Deuteronomy 16:18 is to establish judges and officers at the gates of every city in the land of Israel after its conquest.

As described by the Talmud in Sanhedrin Treaty, there are three types of Bais Din: The Great Sanhedrin, the supreme court which is composed of 71 Elders and that sits in the Temple in Jerusalem; the Small Sanhedrin, consisting of 23 Elders who sit in each city. The small Sanhedrin in capital cities supervise other tribal courts on their territory and are the only ones authorized to impose death sentences; and the tribunals consisting of three sages. The courts try all cases covered by Jewish law after hearing the witnesses.

Today

The authority of a Bais Din is reduced today to the domain given to it by the laws of the country where it sits. For example, the Bais Din has no official recognition in France while it judges the family court in Israel. Its role is often reduced to adjudicating ritual cases, such as the Kosher, Mikvah, or the conversion to Judaism. Despite its lack of coercive power, the religious Jews will normally involve the Bais Din to settle their disputes.