Questions tagged [cherem]
A rabbinically instituted ban whose transgressors are under a form of ostracism. The most famous public charamot are those by Rabbeinu Gershom.
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Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom text
Does anyone know where I can find the actual text of the Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom? It keeps popping up in my learning, but only as being referenced, I would like to read that actual text.
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Didn't the lottery of Achan make G-d an informant?
In Sanhedrin 43b God says he will not tell Yehoshua who took of the cherem of Yericho because God is not an informer
אמר לפניו רבש"ע מי חטא אמר ליה וכי דילטור אני
Joshua said to G-d: Master of ...
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Does the cherem that the Vilna Gaon put on certain sectors of Chassidus still apply?
It is known that the Vilna Gaon put 2 sectors of Chassidus in Cherem. I am wondering who has permitted them now seeing as we non-Chassidim don't make borders between them and ourselves.
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Embarrassing a Baal Teshuva
Be'er Hagolah at the end of Yoreh Deah 334 says that one of the things that are considered Cherem D'Rabeinu Gersom is not to embarrass a Baal Teshuva regarding his previous lifestyle.
Yet when you ...
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How can private letters be published?
Rabbeinu Gershom issued a Cherem (ban) on unauthorized reading of private letters.
I would like to know how books which contain private correspondence or sh'elos us'shuvos between Rabbis and other ...
user5092
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Is it forbidden for a Jew to read the writings of Baruch Spinoza?
The cherem against Spinoza says the following:
The Lords of the ma'amad, having long known of the evil opinions and acts of Baruch de Espinoza... We order that no one should communicate with him ...
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Must a man seek 100 rabbis' permission again to take another "second" wife?
In certain cases, a man might receive a heter meah rabbanim (permission from 100 rabbis) to take a second wife. This may happen for a variety of reasons, but I understand that all of the cases involve ...
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What are the 3 things Rabeinu Gershom banned?
I've heard that Rabeinu Gershom (a 10th-11th century scholar) banned 3 things, and I know one of them is polygamy. Does anyone know what the other two are?
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Excommunication in Judaism
What is the process for excommunication in Judaism? I'm familiar with excommunication in the Catholic Church and was told that the process is different in Judaism.
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Understanding the cherem to tell Yaakov that Yosef was alive
In Bereshis 37:33 Rashi cites the midrash that the brothers pronounced an excommunication and curse on anyone who would reveal what they did. This is why God, as well as Yitzhak didn't tell Yaakov. I ...
user6641
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Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom History
Has the original text of the Gazeira of Rabbeinu Gershom been lost. If so when? Who are the earliest sources stating such?
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Which rabbis in the Talmud were placed under cherem?
Which rabbis in the Talmud were placed under cherem (excommunication)? We know about Rabbi Eliezer Bava Metzia 59b and Rabbi Akavia ben Mahalal’el [Eduyyot 7b, but see discussion there]. Anybody ...
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why was R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus excommunicated?
Bava Metzia 59b says that at the end of the episode of the Oven of Akhnai, Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus was excommunicated. (Apparently there's a makhloket about whether this was nidui or cherem.)
The ...
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Has the Ban of Rabbenu Gershom expired?
I have heard that the ban or cherem of Rabbenu Gershom has expired. Is this the case? If so, what are the ramifications vis–à–vis his enactments?
user2110
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Who Exactly Threatened to Excommunicate Ramchal?
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, known as Ramchal, was a controversial and prolific Italian philosopher and Mekubal.
According to the linked Wikipedia article, after disseminating Kabbalah in Italy, "...
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What do we do when chalitza is impossible?
The Mishna at the end of the 14th perek of יבמות gives a few examples where יבום is required and חליצה cannot be done. For example, if there are two brothers, one a חירש (deaf-mute) and one a פיקח (...
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May I publish correspendence received from a corporation?
I understand that there are ethical and possibly halachic issues with publishing a letter or piece of email that I receive from another person without explicit permission. What are the considerations ...
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Were there specific formulaic rules for declaring someone "cherem"?
Wikipedia article on cherem lists the Talmudic rules on what offenses qualified for niddui.
However, it doesn't seem to actually list anything specific (aside from monetary issues that caused ...
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Where can I find the text of the 1756 Vaad haArba Artzot / Brody Cherem?
I searched the web and couldn't find the text of the 1756 Cherem by the Vaad Arba Artzot excommunicating Sabbateans and limiting certain Kabbalah study.
In particular, I didn't find it even mentioned ...
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Nature of Prohibition on Banned Jewish/Torah Books
In the last decade there have been quite a few bans (cherem) on books published for the Orthodox Jew. Usually these bans are put in place by Israeli Charedi Rabbis. To my knowledge most of these bans ...
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What does being put in cheirem mean for you and your descendants?
A (not-so-observant) friend of mine recently told me that his great-grandfather was put into cheirem and, not being able to have children while in cheirem, his descendants (including my friend) are ...
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Where did Rav Menashe Me'Iliah argue on Rashi?
On the Wikipedia page of מנשה מאיליה it says:
לפעמים סבל מקנאים שלא ירדו לסוף דעתו. היו שהסתייגו ממנו בגלוי כגון הרב יעקב'קע לנדא (בנו של הרב יחזקאל לנדא, בעל הנודע ביהודה), שעורר קפידא בגלל שהשיג ...
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Placing a cheirem on a person
Is it possible for a layperson or an important person to put a cheirem on another person or does it have to be a Rabbi?
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אגרת הרמב״ן versus חרם דרבנו גרשם [duplicate]
Rabbeinu Gershom (also known as Me'or Hagolah, the "Light of the Diaspora" - a Rishon who lived approximately 1000 years ago) issued a Cherem (ban) on unauthorized reading of private letters. This ...
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Decrees against copying genealogies
In the 14th century, David ben Hodayah, who was called a 'nasi' and lived in Bagdad, issued out a certain cherem. Part of the text of the cherem included his genealogy and the genealogy of a ...
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What's the source for the Cheirim of York?
Regarding the massacre of the Jews which took place at Cliffords Tower in York, 1190. It is said that as a result of this incident, a cheirem was placed on York forbidding people to sleep there ...
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Looking for info about the issur to marry chassidim
In the early days of the "war" between the misnagdim and the chassidim, some of the leading Rabbis of the misnagdim made some sort of public cherem forbidding marriage to chassidim. Are there any ...
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Cherem ceremony: candles?
Encyclopedia Judaica (sv 'Herem') says that when a cherem was pronounced, a ceremony would be held in synagogue involving wax candles. Can anyone point to sources discussing this ceremony?
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Does one have to honor parents who’re in Nidui or Cherem
In the Talmud, the Gemara of tractate Moed Katan it rules that one still observes the laws of ostracism which supersede the commandment to rejoice on festivals. My question is, is the positive ...
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Invalidating a minyan
Hypothetical case --
I am within my year of saying kaddish and am on a business trip. I am in a very small and unfamiliar shul waiting for a minyan and in walks someone from my town who has been ...
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When can I attend service (Shabbat) after seminal emission? [closed]
Unmarried, 22 year old Jewish man here. I've been consciously trying to get myself rid of masturbation for a year now. I started to take precautions and I take this fight very seriously now. I put a ...
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Earliest ban issued by a sage in the torah
What is the earliest source in the Torah where a leader/sage made a ban against something and people ignored what he said?
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Legitimate reasons for Cherem
According to Halacha, one is eligible for Cherem themselves if they put someone else in Cherem for an illegitimate reason. My question is, what constitutes a legitimate reason for Cherem and what ...
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Does a nidui expire automatically?
Shulchan Aruch YD 334:1 sets out the basic position that a nidui lasts 30 days after which it can be extended if the problem persists. It has to be specifically extended in order to continue in force. ...
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Why was the ramchal banned, and how did he become so widely accepted later?
When ramchal was in Italy he was put in cherem for his writing and eventually left to live in Israel. Why did this happen and what changed about the perception of him?
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Is there a mitzvah to kill an apikorus that did teshuva?
In Yoreh De’ah 158:2 it says that there is a mitzvah to kill an apikorus. Assuming this is in the time of the Temple (i.e Jewish/religious autonomy), if that person did teshuva, is there still a ...
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Can G-d be put in Charem
I came across this article:
The Time Has Come for God to Reveal the Messiah, Says Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi.
The jist of the article that Chief Rabbi Amar and two other Rabbis announced as a ruling ...
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The Day After Yom Kippur, Does The Community Re-Excommunnicate People Who Were Excommunicated Before Kol Nidre?
Since we permit to pray with those who were excommunicated (I mean menudim or muhramim i.e. in niduy or 'herem) in Kol Nidre, does the community need to reinstitute relevant niduyim/haramot the day ...
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Was Albert Einstein a Heretic? [closed]
Why isn’t Albert Einstein a heretic? He said: “I believe in Spinoza’s G-d who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a G-d who concerns Himself with fates and actions of human ...
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