Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval Europe

Glossary

Glossary Amoraim sages of the Talmudic period. Bogeret a maiden who has passed the age of puberty, usually over the age of 12. Dayyan judge in a religious court. Erusin betrothal or engagement. Genizah generically, a term used for a place where worn Torah scrolls and other holy objects and Hebrew manuscripts are stored. Specifically, it refers to the Genizah in the main synagogue in Cairo, where numerous Hebrew documents were discovered in the late nineteenth century. This collection, which is an invaluable source of information about Jewish life in the medieval period, is now located in various libraries throughout the world, particularly in Cambridge, England. Get divorce writ, written by hand and serving as the instrument for Jewish divorce. Halakhah Jewish law. Halizah alternative to the ritual of yibbum (levirate marriage), in which the woman removes her brother-in-law’s shoe and spits on the ground in front of him (based on Deut. 25:5–10). Hamez leavened food stuff, forbidden to eat on Passover. Herem ban, in which a person who has violated a major halakhic or communal norm is ostracized and excluded from various aspects of religious, social, and public interaction . Huppah lit., wedding canopy. Refers to the wedding ceremony. Ketubah wedding document, in which the bridegroom formally undertakes various obligations to his wife. The document also functions as a promissory note to the wife, giving her a certain sum of money upon the termination of the marriage, whether by divorce or the husband’s death. Miqveh Ritual bath, traditionally run as a communal institution, in which married Jewish women immerse themselves monthly after menstruation, as a prerequisite for resuming marital relations with their husbands. Mishnah Codex of Jewish law, summarizing legal traditions of late tannaitic tradition. Edited by R. Judah the ha-Nasi ca. 215 ce, it serves as the starting point for the Talmud . Miun Annulment: a special procedure allowed in the case where an underage orphan girl had been married off by her mother or brothers, in which she may annul the marriage prior to her majority without requiring a get. Mitzvah commandment. Mohel ritual circumcisor. Moredet Rebellious wife, who refuses either to have sexual relations with her husband and/or to perform her household tasks. Na‘arah maiden, in most cases defined by the halakhah as one between the ages of 12 and 12.5. Piyyut liturgical poem or poetry. Poseq / posqim Rabbinic decisor(s). Public domain (reshut harabbim) unenclosed public space within which, according to Jewish law, it is forbidden to carry objects on the Sabbath. Qatlanit “murderous wife.” Category applied to a woman, two of whose husbands died while married to her. Qetanah minor girl who has not yet reached the age of twelve. Qiddushin Betrothal. The ceremony by which a woman becomes formally betrothed to a man; following it, the connection between them may only be undone by means of a formal divorce writ (get). Today, this ceremony is performed in conjunction with the wedding ceremony itself. Responsum / Responsa (Heb., Teshuvah / Teshuvot) Rabbinic reply to a question in Jewish law, or the literary genre consisting the record of such responses. These usually include the reasoning used in arriving at the decision. Sandaq godfather; i.e., the person who holds the baby infant on his lap during the circumcision ceremony. Considered the highest honor at that ceremony. Shiddukh, Shiddukhin Match; the act of engagement to be married. Shohet ritual slaughterer. Taqqanah edict or ordinance issued by the community or rabbinic leadership of a given town, district, or country. Talmud the central work of classic rabbinic Judaism, containing discussions of and elaboration of the Mishnah, new discussions that take off from there, and miscellaneous ethical maxims, stories about the sages, folklore, etc. (aggadah). Exists in two distinct compendia: the Jerusalem (or Palestinean) Talmud, and the Babylonian Talmud. Tannaim sages of the Mishnaic period. Yibbum Levirate marriage, in which the brother-in-law marries his brother’s childless widow so as to perpetuate his brother’s memory (see above, halizah). [ 308 ] Glossary ...