::For the ''Va'adat Ezrah Vehatzalah'', known as the ''Vaad'', see

Aid and Rescue Committee The Aid and Rescue Committee, or ''Va'adat Ha-Ezrah ve-ha-Hatzalah be-Budapesht'' (''Vaada'' for short; name in ) was a small committee of Zionists in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944–1945, who helped Hungarian Jews escape the Holocaust during the Ger ...

Vaad is a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

term for a council. Often it refers to a council of

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s, i.e., a rabbinical council. It is a diasporic phenomenon, having no precedent in

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

ic times. A Vaad has different responsibilities from a ''

beth din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

'' (rabbinical court).

Historical

Older examples include the

Council of Four Lands The Council of Four Lands ( he, ועד ארבע ארצות, ''Va'ad Arba' Aratzot'') in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from the second half of the 16th century to 1764. The first known regulation for the Council ...

. Since the Enlightenment and the subsequent emancipation of Jews living in European nations, Jewish communities no longer have their own autonomous governments, and vaads with governmental powers no longer exist. Nevertheless, Vaads empowered by the Rabbinate and community leaders continued to wield tremendous power within their respective Jewish communities. A prime example of this was the

Vaad Rosh Hashochtim of Poland and Lithuania Vaad Rosh Hashochtim of Poland and Lithuania ''(Council of Leaders of the Shochtim of Poland and Lithuania)'' (Hebrew, He: ועד ראשי השוחטים דמדינת פולין וליטא) was a council of seven rabbis that oversaw Poland and Lit ...

, a council that consisted of seven Rabbis that regulated the over 3,500 practicing in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

prior to the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Today, Vaads still exist as rabbinical councils, each with its own purview. Some deal with maintaining communal standards of

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

(kosher food); others deal with communal standards of marriage, divorce and

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Th ...

Modern day

Modern-day vaads in ''

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

'' include the Vaad Halakha and the Beth Din of America, both sponsored by the

Rabbinical Council of America The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main pr ...

. Another example is the Vaad Harabonim, part of the Rabbinical Council of New England. It supervises the

of foods for many food manufacturers in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, USA. Modern-day vaads in ''

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

'' include the

Rabbinical Assembly The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, an ...

Committee on Jewish Law and Standards The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards is the central authority on halakha (Jewish law and tradition) within Conservative Judaism; it is one of the most active and widely known committees on the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly. With ...

, and the Israeli ''Vaad Halakha''. The term is also used at Jewish summer camps, such as

Camp Ramah Darom Camp Ramah Darom is a Jewish summer camp affiliated with the Conservative movement in Clayton, Georgia. History Camp Ramah Darom opened in 1997. The camp aims to inspire a lifelong love of Jewish values, tradition and community. Ramah Darom is loc ...

and Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, to refer to a group of counselors who work together to plan a program for their campers. Examples include a Vaad

Tefillah Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...

(which plans programs during morning prayer services), a Vaad Peulat Erev (which plans evening activities), and a Vaad

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

(which plans programs for the sabbath). Because of its frequent use at camps, many Jewish young adults have adopted this term for use in other contexts. For example, when planning a party, one may be a member of Vaad

Tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the Agave tequilana, blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ...

External links

Vaad.org: Vaads Around the World
Hebrew words and phrases Jewish law Rabbinical organizations {{Jewish-org-stub