The Seder ha-Mishmarah is a study cycle devised by the Ben Ish Ḥai and used by some

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...

(Jews of Near and Middle Eastern origin) for reading the whole of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

in the course of a year. It depends on the cycle of the

weekly Torah portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is p ...

s read in the synagogue. Some communities have a custom of public reading, whereby on each Shabbat afternoon the whole of the ''mishmarah'' for the following Shabbat is read out loud. In others, individuals use it as a basis for private study. The usual form of the cycle is set out in the table below. This cycle is unrelated to that for '' Chok l'Yisrael'', which is a study cycle based on the works of Rabbi Hayyim ben Joseph Vital and revised by Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai. This too is often published in book form and is widely popular among Near and Middle Eastern Jews. Differences between the two are: * The Seder ha-Mishmarah does not include

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

or commentaries on the Torah portion; ''Chok l'Yisrael'' includes both; * ''Chok l'Yisrael'' does not include the whole of Nevi'im, Ketuvim or the Mishnah, and does not present the excerpts in a continuous order through the year; * ''Chok l'Yisrael'' also includes excerpts from the

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 ce ...

, the Zohar and works of Jewish law and morality; * ''Chok l'Yisrael'' is designed for daily rather than weekly reading.

Other uses

Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew of Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew (also c ...

''mishmarah'' (or ''mishmeret'') means a "watch", that is to say a division of the night (usually one-third). In Temple times, a ''mishmar'' (or ''mishmarah'') also referred to a group of priests whose turn it was to officiate. In addition to the study cycle described above, the term ''mishmarah'' is used for a nocturnal prayer or study session preceding a celebration such as a wedding or a Brit milah or a festival such as Hoshanah Rabba or following a death. This usage was derived either from the above meaning as a watch in the night or from the practice of watching over a corpse. However, by folk etymology the word is sometimes interpreted as a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

" and "Gemara", to refer to the texts studied.isaacazose.com
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External links and references

Endnotes {{reflist References and external links *''Ḥoq le-Ya'aqov'', which sets out all the readings in book form *Table at end of ''Tefillat Yesharim'' (Siddur#Edot Ha-mizrach (Iraqi), Iraqi prayer book) *''Mishmarah'' tab on http://www.pizmonim.org website Jewish prayer and ritual texts Jewish law and rituals Mizrahi Jewish culture

Other uses

See also

External links and references