Habdalah

"Separation." A home and synagogue ceremony performed after dusk on Saturday. The purpose is to declare the Sabbath formally at an end. The ceremony consists of four benedictions: (a) over a cup of wine, (b) over spices (B'somim), (c) over a braided candle light specially lit for the occasion and (d) the benediction, which affirms the custom of separating the holy from the profane.

The use of aromatic spices, unique to this ceremony, is related to the use of censers of spices at meals in ancient times. The hands are cupped around the candle light exposing "clean hands," so that the new week is started morally with "clean hands."

Haber

Hebrew term used either to designate a scholar or an associate: more commonly used in the sense of member of a brotherhood, comrade.

Hadassah

Women's Zionist Organization of America. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold to foster Zionist ideals in the United States and to improve health conditions in Palestine, and developed in 1918 by the sending of the American Zionist Medical Unit (since known as the Hadassah Medical Organization) to Palestine into the largest Jewish women's organization in the United States and the mainstay of the health and sanitation work in Palestine. In the last decade it transmitted $3,923,865 to Palestine where its organic extension was as follows:

1913, Two American Jewish trained nurses sent to Palestine to do visiting nursing in Jerusalem; 1915, Campaign against malaria and trachoma begun; 1918, America Zionist Medical Unit assembled; Training School for Nurses opened; 1921, First Infant Welfare station established; 1922, Scholarship granted to an Hadassah nurse to do post-graduate work in America: 1924 Course in
public health work added to curriculum of Training School for Nurses; 1926, Infant Welfare Stations increased to fifteen; 1927, Cornerstone laid for Nathan and Lina Straus Health Center to house Hadassah public health activities in Jerusalem; 1928, Redemption of 2,500 dunams of Haifa Bay Land undertaken; 1929, Straus Health Center in Jerusalem and a new hospital building in Tel Aviv opened; Straus Health Center in Tel Aviv completed; 1930, Clara Wachtel Dental Clinic opened in Jerusalem; the Peter J. Schweitzer Memorial Hospital opened in Tiberias (closed); 1931, Tel Aviv and Haifa hospitals transferred to local communities and rural service transferred to Kuppat Holim Amamit; 1933, New Institute of Radiology opened.

Hadassah has a large affiliate, the Junior Hadassah, and many sewing circles besides its chapters. Its presidents have been Henrietta Szold to 1925; Mrs. Irma L. Lindhein, 1926-29; Mrs. Robert Szold, 1929-30; Mrs. Edward Jacobs, 1930-32, and since 1932 Mrs. Samuel W. Halprin.

Had Gadya

Aramaic, "one kid." This popular allegorical hymn is chanted at the conclusion of the Passover Seder service. It was first printed in the Prague Hagada of 1590, but it is probably much older for it is in use in the Seder services of the Orient and was recited in the South of France in the dialect of Province, and in Germany in Ivri-Teutch. As a cumulative verse on the lines of the "House that Jack built" it was easy to memorize, and as some of its allegories were intended to be prophetic, it was probably purposely withheld from the early Hagada mss. and printed books.

It was all flux there was nothing but flux. The wisest had always seen that, the cat which devoured the kid, and the dog which bit the cat, and the staff which smote the dog, and the fire which burned the staff, and so on endlessly. Did not the commentators say that that was the meaning of this very parable the passing of empires the ancient Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome? Israel Zangwill, Chad Gadya, in Dreamers of the Ghetto.

Haftarah

Portion of the Prophets read immediately after the reading of the Torah, on Sabbaths and festivals, in all synagogs. It is presumed that this custom of reading an appropriate selection from the prophets was first introduced during the persecutions of 168-165 b.c.e., when the reading of the Law was prohibited.

Hagadah

"Narration." The name of the book which contains the Seder service. So called because the youngest child in the family (where there are no children, the wife asks four questions beginning: "Wherefore is this night distinguished from all other nights?" Then the master of the house tells the reasons as found in the book; the Hagadah is primarily the narrative of Passover and contains the answers to the Four Questions. The name derives from the Hebrew word V'hi-gad'to in the verse: Thou shalt tell thy son on that day this is done because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.__Ex. xiii. 8.

M.A.

Hagiographa

"Sacred Writings"; in Hebrew Ketubim. All the Books in the third category of the Jewish Canon, viz.: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, I Chronicles and II Chronicles, in the order named.

Hakoah

The popular football brand of the Maccabi international Jewish sport union. The success of the Viennese Hakoah a few years ago did much to popularize football among Jews everywhere. Hakoah teams won games against noted contestants in many countries. Athletics are being most assiduously cultivated in Germany.

Hallah

Name applied to the twisted loaves of ceremonial bread eaten on the Sabbath and festivals. Two loaves are used in remembrance of the two portions of manna for the Sabbath. Originally it designated the priests' share of the dough (Num. xv. 17-21). The breaking of a portion of the, and casting it into the fire, is symbolic of the setting aside of the portion for the priest (Ezek.xliv. 30). It is burned because there is no priesthood to claim it.

M.A.

Hallel

Talmudic and ritualistic name of the group of Psalms cxiii.-cxviii., which are recited on the New Moon and the festivals, and incorporated in the Seder service.

Hanucah

"Dedication." This festival is observed for eight days beginning the eve of the 25th of Kislev. Apart from slight additions in the orthodox ritual, it is principally observed in the synagog and the home by the lighting of candles set in an eight-branched Menorah, with an additional holder for the Shammas or candle with which the others are lighted. The custom is to light one candle the first evening, two the second; progressively increased each evening until eight are lit on the eighth night. The lighting is preceded by brief appropriate blessings and the singing afterwards of the popular hymn Ma'oz Tzur (Our Rock). Hanucah was instituted in 165 b.c.e. by Judas Maccabeus as a memorial of the purification and rededication of the sanctuary three years after it had been defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes. Games like the "royal game of goose," and others with a Trendel, a teetotum with Hebrew lettering, are played during Hanucah.

In recent decades Hanucah has been revived in popularity, and it is celebrated in Sabbath and religious schools by presenting appropriate plays.

Oil that burnt in olden temple,
Eight days only didst give forth light!
Oil of faith sustained these people
Through the centuries of darkest night.

Caroline Deutsch, quoted in Friedlander's, Standard Book of Jewish Verse.

Hatikwah

Jewish National Hymn, composed by Naphtali Herz Imber and since 1898 accepted throughout the Jewish world.

Throughout its whole range modern Hebrew literature can offer no poem to rival in popularity Imber's song...one other striking merit of Hatikwah must be observed. Unlike many other poets of Zion, Imber does not denounce. He makes no attack on those who do not share his feelings. He points to the continued existence of the hope for the return, but he refrains from condemning
except by the merest implication, those who have no consciousness of the hope. Israel Abrahams, By-Paths in Hebraic Bookland.

Hattarat Hora'ah

Rabbinical diploma issued as evidence that the holder is qualified to teach, preach, etc., if elected to office.

Hayim

"Life." Common first name which has also been used as a surname. Its variants and derivatives include: Aim, Agin, Chajim, Chakin, Chakinet, Hagin, Haine, Hayem, Haym, Hayum, Heine, Hyam, Hyams, Hyamson, Jehiel, Veide, Veitel, Vida, Vital, Vitales, Vitelles, Vivian, Vivis, Vivo. Its feminine synonym is Zoe. It is now often interchanged as Charles, but Henry is regarded as more
correct.

Hazan

Cantor. In the Amarna tablets the word means a governor stationed in Palestine by the Egyptians.

Hazkarat Neshamot

Memorial service, according to the Ashkenazic ritual, held Eighth Day of Passover, the Second Day of the Feast of Weeks, Day of Atonement, and the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly.

He

Fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet; numerical value, five. It is, however, not used in any addition where the arrangement of the letters compose the name of God. Thus 15 is not composed of Yod-He, but of Tes-waw, 9 plus 6.

Hebra Kadisha

Term applied to a voluntary organization which cares for the dying, and buries the dead. The organization of such societies dates back to remote times, though the name is not so old as the organization.

Hebrew

Abram is designated Hebrew (Gen. xiv. 13), and the plural form first appears in Gen. xxxix.-xlii. Various forms of the word are found in the Amarna tablets. The word is traced either to a tribal ancestor, Eber, or to Abraham's crossing the Euphrates or the Jordan. The Israelites addressed themselves as Children of Israel, and spoke of themselves, or were described as Hebrews. The five terms, Children of Israel, Israelites, Hebrews, Judeans, Jews, imply the same human group, at different stages of their history.

"Hebrew Melodies"

Collection of poems written by Lord George Gordon Byron, 1815, and translated into Hebrew and other languages. The poems were written for Nathan, the composer, and sung by Brahm.

Heder

Elementary Hebrew school. Systematic teaching of Torah, morals, and this dates from the beginning of Jewish history. References to teaching, teachers, pupils, etc., can be traced through the scriptures and continue in increasing volume in Talmudic writings.

The children receive religious instruction in a private school (Heder) kept by a teacher in his own house, or in a publicly supported institution called a Talmud Torah.

Hekdesh

Hebrew for hospital. First used at Cologne in the 11th cent. The older biblical term is "bet ha-Hofshit," house of separation.

Herem

"Excommunication." Two forms of the ban of ecclesiastical censure were known, "niddui" a brief ban by which a Jew was "sent to Coventry," i.e. none but his immediate family could speak to him; the "herem," which was a boycott for an indefinite period and extending in every direction. The Talmud recognized 24 offenses ranging from insulting a learned man to spreading scandal.
The procedure was a formal act of the court and there are references to a number of Talmudic authorities who were put under the ban.

Excommunication in its more popular form was a rabbinical institution for preserving the authority of the synagogue. The well-known cases of Uriel Acosta and Baruch Spinoza, excommunicated for heresy were not typical cases of the exercise of the herem. Many of the cases accorded in Jewish history show that it was frequently used to correct personal mis-conduct, in which no moral turpitude or crime was involved. As a measure against heresy it was employed in the great religious controversy over the acceptance of the teachings of Maimonides against the study of science, against Shabbethai Zebi and his followers, and against the Frankists and
Hasidim. The Polish Jews restricted the utterance of the ban by demanding that they consent to its issuance. It was legally forbidden in Austria and Poland, but is still occasionally pronounced in the Orient. In many orthodox communities rabbis, on taking office, agree not to use the ban except by consent of the community. The theatrical use of "bell, book and black candles" on the utterance of the ban are borrowed trappings. The older form was fastening the writ of banishment on the doorpost of the victim's home.

Het

Eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its numerical value is eight.

Hexateuch

Term employed by higher critics of the Bible who regard the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua as the connected work of a group of writers and editors.

When the different parts of the Hexateuch, especially the laws, are compared together and also compared with the other historical books of the Old Testament, and the prophets, it appears clearly that they cannot all be the work of a single man, or the product of a single age.__Driver, The Book of Genesis.

High Priest

"Kohen hagadol." Aaron was the first incumbent of the office which was confined to his descendants. Originally the high priest filled a purely religious office connected with the service of the temple. In the Maccabean period it was enhanced because the Hasmoneans were of the priestly family. In the Herodian period the office became a political adjunct of the crown. Thirteen high priests are known by name from the reign of Solomon to the captivity; Josephus lists 26 more to the Herodian period, and identifies 27 from Herod I. to the destruction of the Temple.

Holy Soil

The idea that it is desirable to be buried in the Holy Land is symbolized by many Jews in the Diaspora, by placing a pinch of Palestinean earth in the coffin prior to burial.

M.A.

Hosha'na:

"O save!" the cry raised in processions in ancient Jerusalem. Still employed in the orthodox ritual during processions of the scrolls, and lulab, on Tabernacles, and the Rejoicing of the Law.

Hosha'na Rabbah

"The Great Hosha'na." The seventh day of Sukkot. It is a special celebration by processions in synagogs. The recital of Hosha'na is of Temple origin. The willow is used at this festival being shaken till the leaves fall off, as a symbol of disappearing sins. The festival blends two contrary ideas. Originally it marked the zenith of the Sukkot celebrations, with its joys, songs, processions and torchlight parades. Later it came to be associated with the penitential observances of the New Year and Atonement. Hosha'na Rabbah is the completion of this religious cycle. The eve, or rather night of the festival, is celebrated by the recital of selections from the Pentateuch, and penitential prayers. The Cabalists have added mystical formula. The praying is, however, interrupted by feasting. Much sanctity attaches, nevertheless, to this midnight service.

The Hosha'anot were the best merchandise on which a Hebrah could make profits, and the night of Hosha'na Rabbah was the most opportune time for it...In the Babylonian captivity...we hung our harps upon the willows...so when our fathers had to raise money, they would take an armful of willow twigs and make their house-to-house rounds.__A.S. Sachs, Worlds that Passed, 1928.

Huppah

Hebrew for the canopy (Isa. iv. 5) for a bridal ceremony. Commonly employed to designate a wedding. Except that it is portable, the canopy still in use follows the traditional lines. Its probable origin is the baldachin (cloth of Baghdad) borne over royalty as a symbol of dignity. Both bride and groom were regarded as entitled to royal rank on their wedding day. This idea still survives in such phrases, concerning a bride, as "she looks like a queen."

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