The ''Zugot'' ( he, הַזּוּגוֹת ''hazZūgōṯ'', "the Pairs"), also called Zugoth or ''Zugos'' in the

Ashkenazi pronunciation Ashkenazi Hebrew ( he, הגייה אשכנזית, Hagiyya Ashkenazit, yi, אַשכּנזישע הבֿרה, Ashkenazishe Havara) is the pronunciation system for Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew favored for Jewish liturgical use and Torah study by Ashk ...

, refers both to the two-hundred-year period ( 170 BCE – 30 CE, he, תְּקוּפַת הַזּוּגוֹת ''Təqūfaṯ hazZūgōṯ'', "Era of the Pairs") during the time of the Second Temple in which the spiritual leadership of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

was in the hands of five successions of "pairs" of religious teachers, and to each of these pairs themselves.

Origin of the name

In Hebrew, the word ''zûghôth'' () indicates pairs of two identical objects, plural of ''zûgh'' (), a pair. The word is related to

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

''zawj'' (زوج) as singular and ''zawjaat'' as plural, "spouse", and

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

''zôghāʾ'' (), "pair, spouse", from a root meaning "to join" ultimately borrowed from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''zugón'' (ζυγόν), "yoke".

Roles

The zugoth were five pairs of scholars who ruled a supreme court ( '' bêth dîn ha-gādôl'') of the Jews as ''

nasi Nasi may refer to: Food Dishes Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian and Malay word for ''cooked rice'', featured in many Southeast Asian dishes *Nasi goreng, a popular rice dish often simply called ''nasi'' *Other Southeast Asian ''nasi'' dishes: **Nasi ...

'' (, "prince", i.e. president) and '' av beit din'' (, "father of

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

", i.e. chief justice) respectively. After this period, the positions ''nasi'' and ''av beit din'' remained, but they were not zugot. The title of ''av beit din'' existed before the period of the zugot. His purpose was to oversee the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ...

, the court of religious law also known as the "

beit 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 ...

". The rank of ''

'' ("prince") was a new institution that was begun during this period.

List of zugot

There were five pairs of these teachers: #

Jose ben Joezer Jose ben Joezer (also spelt Yose ben Yoezer) was a rabbi of the early Maccabean period, possibly a disciple of Antigonus of Soko and member of the ascetic group known as the Hasidæans, though neither is certain. He belonged to a priestly family. ...

and

Jose ben Jochanan Jose ben Jochanan ( he, יוסי בן יוחנן, Yose ben Yochanan or Joseph ben Johanan) was Av Beit Din (Chief Justice) of the Sanhedrin in the 2nd century BCE. He was a native of Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ...

who flourished at the time of the Maccabean wars of independence #

Joshua ben Perachiah Joshua ben Perahiah or Joshua ben Perachya ( he, יהושע בן פרחיה, Yehoshua Ben Perachia) was Nasi of the Sanhedrin in the latter half of the 2nd century BCE. With Nittai of Arbela, second of five pairs of scholars He and his colleagu ...

and

Nittai of Arbela Nittai of Arbela ( he, נתאי הארבלי) was ''av beit din'' or vice-president of the Sanhedrin under the nasi Joshua ben Perachyah at the time of John Hyrcanus (r. 134–104 BCE). Name In Yer. Hag. II 76d he is called Mattai of Arbela, whi ...

,
at the time of

John Hyrcanus John Hyrcanus (; ''Yōḥānān Hurqanōs''; grc, Ἰωάννης Ὑρκανός, Iōánnēs Hurkanós) was a Hasmonean ( Maccabean) leader and Jewish high priest of the 2nd century BCE (born 164 BCE, reigned from 134 BCE until his death in ...

Judah ben Tabbai Judah ben Tabbai ( ''Yehuda ben Tabbai'') was a Pharisee scholar, av beit din of the Sanhedrin, and one of "the Pairs" (''zugot'') of Jewish leaders who lived in the first century BCE. Judah ben Tabbai was associated by some medieval writers with ...

and

Simeon ben Shetach Simeon ben Shetach, or Shimon ben Shetach or Shatach (), ''circa'' 140-60 BCE, was a Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of Alexander Jannæus (c. 103-76 BCE) and his successor, Queen Salome Alexandra (c. 76-67 BCE), who ...

,
at the time of

Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, ...

and

Salome Alexandra Salome Alexandra, or Shlomtzion ( grc-gre, Σαλώμη Ἀλεξάνδρα; he, , ''Šəlōmṣīyyōn''; 141–67 BCE), was one of three women to rule over Judea, the other two being Athaliah and Devora. The wife of Aristobulus I, and ...

# Shmaya and Abtalion,
at the time of

Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos'') (died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of J ...

# Hillel the Elder and

Shammai Shammai (50 BCE – 30 CE, he, שַׁמַּאי, ''Šammaʾy'') was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hill ...

,
at the time of King

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

Other uses of term ''zugot''

The term ''zûghôth'' refers to pairs generally. The

Babylonian 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 cent ...

contains an extensive discussion of dangers of ''zûghôth'' and of performing various activities in pairs. The discussants expressed belief in a

demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may ...

and in practices of

sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

from which protection was needed by avoiding certain activities. The demonology included a discussion of ''Ashmidai'' (Asmodai or

Asmodeus Asmodeus (; grc, Ἀσμοδαῖος, ''Asmodaios'') or Ashmedai (; he, אַשְמְדּאָי, ''ʾAšmədʾāy''; see below for other variations), is a ''prince of demons'' and hell."Asmodeus" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chi ...

), referred to as king of the

shedim ''Shedim'' ( he, שֵׁדִים; singular: ''Shed'') are spirits or demons in the Tanakh and Jewish mythology. However, they are not necessarily equivalent to the modern connotation of demons as evil entities. Evil spirits were thought as the ...

"demons". However, later generations did not make efforts to avoid harm from ''zugot'', and their rabbis suggest various reasons why this is the case.

Menachem Meiri Menachem ben Solomon Meiri or Hameiri (1249–1315) was a famous Catalan rabbi, Talmudist and Maimonidean. Biography Menachem Meiri was born in 1249 in Perpignan, which then formed part of the Principality of Catalonia. He was the student of Rab ...

stated that belief in the harm of pairs was widespread among the masses of the time and the Sages sought to allay their fears and draw them away from their excesses.

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

ruled that the rules regarding ''zugot'' need not be followed, as these evil spirits are no longer prevalent. The Tur included the ''zugot'' rules in his code,Orach Haim 170 but the Beit Yosef disputed this based on Tosafot. The

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...

and

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

do not mention concern for ''zugot''. Most recent

poskim In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

, including ''Ben Yehoyada'' of

Yosef Hayyim Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew: Yoseph Ḥayyim; he, יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Baghdadi ''hakham'' (Sephardi rabbi), authority on ''halakha'' (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist. He is best ...

, do not require concern for ''zugot''.

References

* {{Zugot Jewish history by period