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Zmanim
''Zmanim'' (, literally means "times", singular ''zman'') are specific times of the day mentioned in Jewish law. These times appear in various contexts: Shabbat and Jewish holidays begin and end at specific times in the evening, while some rituals must be performed during the day or the night, or during specific hours of the day or night. Calculations Relative hours The daytime period is divided into twelve equal "relative hours" (or "seasonal" or "variable" hours), which can be longer or shorter than 60 minutes, as the period of daylight is generally not exactly twelve hours long. Hours of the day are counted according to these relative hours for commandments: thus, the Shema prayer must be recited in "the first three hours" of the day, i.e., the first 1/4 of the daytime period. There are two major opinions regarding the definition of the daytime period: *According to Magen Avraham the period between ''daybreak and nightfall'' is divided into 12 hours. Usually this time is ...
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Relative Hour (Jewish Law)
Relative hour (Hebrew singular: / ; plural: / ), sometimes called halachic hour, temporal hour, seasonal hour and variable hour, is a term used in Rabbinic Judaism, rabbinic Jewish law that assigns 12 hours to each day and 12 hours to each night, all throughout the year. A relative hour has no fixed length in absolute time, but changes with the length of daylight each day - depending on summer (when the days are long and the nights are short), and in winter (when the days are short and the nights are long). Even so, in all seasons a day is always divided into 12 hours, and a night is always divided into 12 hours, which invariably makes for a longer hour or a shorter hour. At Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean latitude, one hour can be about 45 minutes at the winter solstice, and 75 minutes at summer solstice. All of the hours mentioned by the Sages of Israel, Sages in either the Mishnah or Talmud, or in other rabbinic writings, refer strictly to relative hours. Another feature of ...
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Variable Hour
Relative hour (Hebrew singular: / ; plural: / ), sometimes called halachic hour, temporal hour, seasonal hour and variable hour, is a term used in rabbinic Jewish law that assigns 12 hours to each day and 12 hours to each night, all throughout the year. A relative hour has no fixed length in absolute time, but changes with the length of daylight each day - depending on summer (when the days are long and the nights are short), and in winter (when the days are short and the nights are long). Even so, in all seasons a day is always divided into 12 hours, and a night is always divided into 12 hours, which invariably makes for a longer hour or a shorter hour. At Mediterranean latitude, one hour can be about 45 minutes at the winter solstice, and 75 minutes at summer solstice. All of the hours mentioned by the Sages in either the Mishnah or Talmud, or in other rabbinic writings, refer strictly to relative hours. Another feature of this ancient practice is that, unlike the standard m ...
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Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the Genesis creation narrative, creation of the heaven and earth in six days and the redemption from slavery and the Exodus from Egypt. Since the Hebrew calendar, Jewish religious calendar counts days from sunset to sunset, Shabbat begins in the evening of what on the civil calendar is Friday. Shabbat observance entails refraining from 39 Melachot, work activities, often with shomer Shabbat, great rigor, and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. Judaism's traditional position is that the unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution. Variations upon Shabbat are widespread in Judaism and, with adaptations, throughout the Abraham ...
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Tish'a Ba'av
Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem. Tisha B'Av precedes the end of the three weeks between dire straits. This day is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. It is categorized as a day destined for tragedy. Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar. Observances of the day include five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, is read in synagogue, followed by the recitation of ''kinnot'', liturgical dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some ''kinnot'' also recall events such as the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans; ...
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Shacharit
''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. Essentially all agree that '' pesukei dezimra'', the Shema Yisrael and its blessings, and the '' Amidah'' are major sections. Some identify the preliminary blessings and readings, as a first, distinct section. Others say that Tachanun is a separate section, as well as the concluding blessings. On certain days, there are additional prayers and services added to shacharit, including Mussaf and a Torah reading. Etymology ''Shacharit'' comes from the Hebrew root (''shaħar''), meaning dawn. Origin According to tradition, ''Shacharit'' was identified as a time of prayer by Abraham, as states, "Abraham arose early in the morning," which traditionally is the first ''Shacharit''. However, Abraham's prayer did not become a standardized p ...
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Shema
''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; , “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism: "Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one" (), found in . The first part can be translated as either "The our God" or "The is our God", and the second part as either "the is one" or as "the one " (in the sense of "the alone"), since Hebrew does not normally use a copula in the present tense, so translators must decide by inference whether one is appropriate in English. The word used for "the " is the tetragrammaton YHWH. Observant Jews consider the ''Shema'' to be the most important part of the prayer service in Judaism, and its twice-daily recitation as a ''mitzvah'' (religious commandment). Also, it is traditional for Jews to say the ''Shema'' as their last words, and for parents to teach their children ...
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Minchah
Mincha (, ; sometimes spelled Minchah, Minhah, Mincho or Minchuh) is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "gift" or "offering", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice offered in the Temple (Beit HaMikdash). Origin The Hebrew noun ''minḥah'' () is used 211 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, with the first uses referring to vegetable and animal offerings brought by Cain and Abel to God. Most other uses refer to a gift offering, made of grain, which could be offered at any time in the day. However, occasionally the Bible uses "mincha" to specifically refer to the afternoon Temple sacrifice. Rabbis in the Talmud debate whether the daily prayers have their origin in the behavior of the biblical Patriarchs, or in the Temple sacrifices. According to the first opinion, the Mincha prayer was originated by Isaac, who "went out to converse in the field", with God. According to the second opinion, the M ...
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Erev Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins ten days of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur, as well as beginning the cycle of autumnal religious festivals running through Sukkot which end on Shemini Atzeret in Israel and Simchat Torah everywhere else. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day observance and celebration that begins on the first day of Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year. In contrast to the ecclesiastical lunar new year on the first day of the first month Nisan, the spring Passover month which marks Israel's exodus from Egypt, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year, according to the teachings of Judaism, and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and ...
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Amidah
The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on weekdays: Morning (''Shacharit''), afternoon ('' Mincha''), and evening ('' Ma'ariv''). On Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh ("Beginning of the Month"), and Jewish festivals, a fourth ''Amidah'' ('' Mussaf'') is recited after the morning Torah reading. Once annually, a fifth ''Amidah'' ('' Ne'ilah'') is recited around sunset on Yom Kippur. Due to the importance of the ''Amidah'', in rabbinic literature, it is simply called "''hatefila''" (, "the prayer"). According to legend, the prayer was composed by the "Men of the Great Assembly" (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah''; –332 BCE). However, the fact that the prayer contains, next to Biblical Hebrew, many mishnaic terms, leads to the conclusion that it was composed and compiled during the mishnaic period ...
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Tefillin
Tefillin (Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ; Modern Israeli Hebrew, Modern Hebrew pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by male adult Jews during weekday and Sunday morning prayers. In Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox and traditional communities, they are worn solely by men, while some Reform Judaism, Reform and Conservative Judaism, Conservative (Masorti) communities allow them to be worn by Jewish adults regardless of gender. In Jewish law (halacha), women are exempt from most time-dependent positive commandments, which include tefillin, and unlike other time-dependent positive commandments, most halachic authorities prohibit them from fulfilling this commandment. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form (the singular being "tefillah"), it is often used as a singular as well. The a ...
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Tzitzit
''Tzitzit'' ( ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usually attached to the four corners of the ''tallit gadol'' (prayer shawl), usually referred to simply as a or ; and ''tallit katan'' (everyday undershirt). Through synecdoche, a may be referred to as . Etymology The word may derive from the semitic root, Hebrew root [n-ts-h]. shares this root with the Hebrew for 'lock of hair'. For example, in the Book of Ezekiel an angel grabs the prophet "by the of [his] head;" he could be said to be "dragged by his hair." A popular etymological interpretation of derives from another word which shares this root. ( 'budding flower') may once have referred to floral ornamentation on clothing. One can hear distinct similarities with contemporaneous Akkadian lan ...
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Hallel
Hallel (, 'Praise') is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Types Full Hallel Full Hallel () consists of all six Psalms of the Hallel, in their entirety. It is a Jewish prayer recited on the first two nights and days of Pesach (only the first night and day in Israel), on Shavuot, all seven days of Sukkot, on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, and on the eight days of Hanukkah. The sages have provided a "siman" (a way to remember) the days when full Hallel is recited. It is called "BeBeTaCh". A blessing is recited at the beginning and end of Full Hallel. Partial Hallel Partial Hallel () omits parts of the Full Hallel: The first 11 verses of both Psalms 115 and 116 are omitted. In Yemenite Jewish custom, additional passages are omitted: Psalm 117, and Psalm 118:1–4. Partial Hallel is recited on the last six days of Pesach and on Rosh Chodesh. On these days Hallel was ...
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