Encyclopedia.com > Dictionaries, Thesauruses, Pictures, and Press Releases > The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions > January 1997

Ḥerem

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 696 words | Copyright

Ḥerem (Heb., ‘ban’). Excommunication from the Jewish community. Derived from the isolation of holy items in biblical times, the first reference to excommunication is in Ezra 10. 8. In the period of the Talmud, four types of excommunication had developed: (i) nezifah, a rebuke, an expulsion for seven days; (ii) shamta, now of uncertain meaning; (iii) niddui, ‘separation’, thirty days in Erez Israel, seven in the diaspora, but renewable without reform of ways; (iv) ḥerem, isolation: such a person was forbidden to hear or teach Torah, and had to observe the laws of mourning. It is now little used in that way except by the extreme Orthodox in Israel.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

JOHN BOWKER. "Ḥerem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Ḥerem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-erem.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Ḥerem." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-erem.html

Learn more about citation styles

Find thousands of answers for hundreds of subjects at Answers Encyclopedia .

All answers verified by trusted sources at Encyclopedia.com

Try Answers Encyclopedia now!

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: