Kanai ( he, קנאי, plural: ''kana'im'', ) is a term for a
zealot
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
or
fanatic
FANatic is an American TV show created by Ed Connolly and produced by Executive Producers Deborah Norton and Ed Connolly of Norton Connolly Productions, that was shown on the MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an Am ...
Pinchas
According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas or Phineas (; , ''Phinees'', ) was a Kohen, priest during the Israelites’ The Exodus, Exodus journey. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth ...
. Pinchas was rewarded by God for his zealotry because he did not act out of hate or for any personal gain, but solely for the sake of God.
Kanaim of the 1st century
Zealotry, described by
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
as one of the "four sects" of Judaism during his time, was a political movement in first century Judaism which sought to incite the people of
Iudaea Province
Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
to rebel against the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
and expel it from the
holy land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
by force of arms, most notably during the
First Jewish–Roman War
The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
(66-70 CE).
Kanaim of the 18th century
Rabbi
Jacob Emden
Jacob Emden, also known as Ya'avetz (June 4, 1697 April 19, 1776), was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement. He was acclaimed in all circles for his ...
who fought the remnants of the
Sabbateans
The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) were a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676),
a Sephardic Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza.
Vast n ...
was considered a ''kanai''.
Kanaim of the 19th century in the Holy Land
Starting in the middle of the 19th century, those fighting the attempts of the
Maskilim
The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...
to introduce secular institutions to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
were known as ''kanaim''. Among the ''kanaim'' was the leader of the
Perushim
The ''perushim'' ( he, פרושים) were Jewish disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, which was then part of Ottoman Syria under Ottoman ...
Rabbi
Yehoshua Leib Diskin
Moshe Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin (1818–1898), also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist, and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk, and, finally, Jerusalem, after moving t ...
who banned the secular institutions.
Kanaim in the 20th century
The
Anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine ...
Neturei karta
Neturei Karta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: , , ) is a religious group of Haredi Jews, formally created in Jerusalem, then in Mandatory Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisrael. Neturei Karta opposes Zionism and calls for a "pea ...
are called ''kanaim''. Its leader was the Jerusalem born Rabbi
Amram Blau Amram Blau (1894–1974) was a Haredi rabbi in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. He was one of the founders of the fiercely Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta.
Biography
Blau was born in Jerusalem into the city's Hungarian Jewish community. His father ...
.
In modern history ''Kana'ut'' (zealotry) has taken on new meanings. While during the previous centuries ''Kana'ut'' was considered a positive attribute, which simulated the zealotry of Pinchas; the ''kana'im'' of today are considered by many religious Jews as fanatic. Those feelings became more pronounced when a delegation of the
Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: , , ) is a religious group of Haredi Jews, formally created in Jerusalem, then in Mandatory Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisrael. Neturei Karta opposes Zionism and calls for a "pea ...
attended the conference in Tehran on
Holocaust Denial
Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements:
...
. Many Jewish organizations including the Anti-Zionist
Satmar
Satmar (Yiddish: סאַטמאַר, Hebrew: סאטמר) is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynast ...
issued a formal protest.
See also
*
Zealotry
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...