THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Anathema conduct nml
ti'iidcncics to the discipline liy which
conduct, iMil)liianil priviilc, is licnccfortli tobe rcjiuluted: it is iin instrument of conununiil puriticalion. a corrective nieiisure desiiined to puiire the community fi'oni ad persons wliose conduct, moral or politi("al. is not ju harmony with the constitution of the tlicocracy. later on. specifically after the
But
community
is
subdivided into conjrresrational bodies, inder the the hcreni or Anathema is the moral deportment and obedience of their mendicrs; actiiiir as a eliick upon insubordination, iiriiclaindnir or threatrnini; expulsion rule of their
own
ollieers.
de.siirned to control
•from all advantages derived from an inteirral membership in the covenant of God: yet operating benelieenlly in its self declared reversible character, under which the authorities niisht take cognizance of the transgressor's re))entance and restore him to his former place in the congregation and comnnuiity (Mislmah Ta'anit. iii. H). The herc-ni. then, becomes in the hands of the authorities an instrument for the proiniitinn of personal conduct as well as the enforcement of jiublic morality, a constitutional power designed to operate bcneticently upon the growth of a Whether this power at any virtuous community. time might not become a source of danger or be converted into an arbitrary exercise of authority was indeed a very serious (pu'slion. The rise of the .Tewish sects (see EssKNEs), the inwhich threatened to fusion of Hellenistic cidture imdermiue Ezra's si)lendid work the Maceabean revolt, and the subsequent unhappy political feuds which represent the struggle between theocrats (Pharisees) and hierocrats (Sadducees). or between the chamiiions of a spirit ualconunon wealth and the votaries of a royally not represented by the old dynasty all these inciilenis helped, jn'oliably. to render the l.ierem an instrument of ecclesiastical discipline. While there exists no exact historical basis fortius gradual development of the institution of Anathema. it may fairly be assumed that it was introduceil at Much, the Sivme time as the pseof the Synagogue. of course, depends on the period to Measure which this rise is assigned. If. as Zunz implies, the rise of the Synagogue is of SynaciiUlcmporaneous with the Maccabean gogal Discipline, jieriod (Zunz. " Gottesdienstliche Vor-
—
—
—
A
Schurer,
trilgc." p. 3, lierlin, 1n:^2: compare also "Gesch." American ed., ii. 54), it nuglil be
safely assumed that, in its main features, the Anathof the first and later centuries of the present era resembles the herein of earlier, s))eeitically the pre-Maccabe!Ui. times, in its general tendency to fortify the found;itions of the covenant by imposing penalties upon heresy as well as upon defections from the ethics of private life. Heresy, in particular, was the great offense during the dominancy of the sects.
ema
660
of "a congregation of the Lord." Doubtless, one of the instruminlsby which this discipline was in forced was the herem or Anathema. Of this thre<' forinsare known: Hkke.m. N'iddi i, and Nkzikaii or XkziFlTA the last named h;iving been, inall ]>robability, introduced only in the second century of the common era as a disciplinary measure airainst the growing disrc'spect in the popdar altitude toward the rabbis (M. K. ltV/-17((; compare Ihunburger, "K. B.
vol. ii., ti.r. "Bann"). For the further trrm S/mmta, i)roperly Shamnwttii, Anunaic ^5n^3!;^ the meaning is obscure. In
T."
all
probability
it
represents a general designation
form of
ecclesiastical excommunication. Levy's derivation ("Chaldilisches Worterbuch," under xnOL") from xmOL". with assimilation of (/ and Ellas Le vita 's as,sert ion ("Tishbi," t, is acceptable. under 'nj) that shanunatta was the highest form of excomnuinication has often been declared groun<lless (comiiare. however. Winer. " Biblische Healencyelop." Hann '). For shainmatta as a general form i. i;i(), K. of Anathema, compare, for instance, >1. K. IT'/. Of the three forms or degrees known, niddui and nezifah were corrective in character, involving a temporary expulsion for a fixed period, at the cx-
for every
/'.
••
piraticm of which the culprit, upon exhibition of proper repentance, was restored to communication with the congregation and to his wonted jirivileges. The first degree, herein, the Anathein;i i>i"oper, wasan expulsion for an indefinite term and represented the final iiunishnient of anofTendcr who had been repeatedly warned and corrected. The person so exjielled Wiismii/inini (com|iare Aiint/ii mil iiiiin/ii nt/iii in I Cor. xvi. 22. According to Graetz inaranatha is a corrupt transcription of nnX D"iniD.Thou art anathema";
compare
Iloltzinanii, "
llandkoinmentar
zum Neuen
TestainenI," pji. 17:1. 174. note). Doubtless, the catalogue of olTcnses for which these three degrees were aiiplied was well defined (compare the classification in Shull.iau Aruk Yoreh De'ah, A'id'
ihii ire-IIeirm.
J;
834. 43).
The modus operandi was to pronounce niddui upon jieriod of thirty days, when, havPering repented his conduct, the ban termiiwitcd. sistence in the oll'cnse was punished with an extension of the lian foranother thirty days, after which the sin-
an olTcnder for the
ner's contumacious conduct was finally ininishcd with herein, or exeominiiniOperandi. cation, which, though indefinite, was revocable at the option of the authorities. The lesser ban. nezifah. was imjiosed for a period of seven days (ih. § 334, 2). In Babylonia there
The Modus
—
nij. Isaiah Ixvi. D3njD in Pu'el form, to cut off. cast (Hit, put under ban. anathematize; compare Buxtorf. "Lexi<'on Chaldaicum." under 'Hi: Levy. " Chaldilisches Wi'irterliueh." under Uli: .lastrow, "Diet." under nj Kohut, "'Arueh (.'ompletum."
an important modification namely, that nezifah im])osed for one day only: niddui for seven days (compare M.K. ](!<', 17A). The character of the offenses for which niddui and herein were imposed permits a fair insight into the thomugh discipline of rabbinical Judaism as it developed after the rise of the Synagogue, but more particularly after the destruction of the Temple and the dis])ersi(m of the Jews. Then the necessity for preserving Judaism became paramount. Thereupon was developed a rigid, uncomiminiising censorship of communal and domestic life, of public and private conduct, which, in its gov-
under
ernment of monds. became of the most far-reaching
Herem has
already been (h'tined. NiDDii, 'nj. Aramaic Knot Nij
Hebrew- mj
."i
mj
C^).
Ki;ziF. . Aramaic nezifutha XDIS'TJ. Root: P|TJ. to warn, to rebuke, hence to pronounce ])unishment or ban (r|1TJ. one who has been excluded from the
congregation: compare Shab. ll'w. compare Levy, "Chakhlisches Wiirterbuch," .i.r. C]T:). The Synagogvie of old was conducted by oflicials to whom, other things, was entrusted the enforcement of religious and ethical discipline, to the end that the community miglit not lose the character and identity
among
IS is
The doctrine of holiness was again urged as fundamental and next to obedience to God, implicit respect was to be shown to His law and to the authorities that had been appointed to administer it. AVhile it does not appear that the Anathema was governed by fixed legal principles: while, in fact, the authorities could impose it without a determination of the verdict by unimpeachable testimony (ih. t; 334, 43 gloss), this "very latitude exhibits the spiritual consequence.
.
