Badchan:

Yiddish term for professional merrymaker or jester. The professional rhymester is still
occasionally employed in Europe and the United States.

Badge:

Distinguishing mark, or distinguishing dress worn by Jews, was first instituted in Islamic
countries in the ninth cent. and maintained to the beginning of Turkish rule and later. In Europe the badge was formally instituted by the Lateran Council in 1215.

The motive given by the church was that it sought to prevent illicit intercourse between Jews and Christian women, an issue also raised by the Muslims, against both Jews and Christians, and later by the crusaders against all non-Franks. As however Jewish women were also forced to wear all sorts of distinguishing marks, and the whole policy of this type of separation was emphasized by
the insane Fatimite caliph, Hakim before the Crusades, the motive of forcing people to wear such marks was not limited to preventing sexual irregularities. The badges, the color of the garments, the size of headdress and shape, varied in different epochs. Caprice as much as anything decided these matters. The marks were not confined to wearing apparel. They included signs over houses, wooden balls on saddles, color and other restrictions, prohibiting the use of white cloth, silk and velvet. Many other devices, inclusive of the ringing of a bell were designed to keep the Jews apart from their neighbors. A favorite form of badge was two pieces of yellow cloth cut to represent the Two Tablets of the Law, but a circle of red or blue was probably as common. The custom of wearing the badge fell into disuse in the 16th cent.

Since Sept., 1933, the yellow badge in the form of yellow cards for Jewish students has been reintroduced in Germany.

Ban:

Public proclamation of an ecclesiastical interdict. The word meaning sacrosanct, occurs frequently in the Bible. In the sense of which it is generally used, as proclaiming an excommunication, it was first used as a war measure against idolaters.

Bareheadedness:

Jewish ritualistic custom denies bareheadedness both to men and women. Orthodox men still wear a cap at service and some at all times. Women covered their hair with a wig (sheitel), but this custom has been in abeyance since the last quarter of the 19th cent. Despite the general assumption the sheitel is not of biblical origin. Such references as appear in the Pentateuch suggest that women covered their heads for adornment and men went bareheaded. The habit of covering the head is of Babylonian origin.

Bar Mitzvah:

"Son of Commandment." This Hebrew term is applied to a boy when he has completed his 13th year, at which time he reaches his religious majority, and therefore becomes personally responsible for his religious acts. This entrance into religious manhood is expressed by extending to the lad an adult privilege. He is called to the reading of the Law on the earliest possible Sabbath after his 13th birthday. He reads a part of the weekly portion of the Law or the Prophet section, and recites the benedictions before and after the reading; as the calling to the Law symbolizes that the Jew is a witness to the truth of the Torah, and that he knows its contents and is obligated to obey its commands, the act defines the new position of the lad, he also is religiously an adult.

A Bar Mitzvah is generally celebrated with considerable festivity, and the giving of presents, and the delivery of a discourse by the lad to the assembled guests. From this time on the boy is regarded as an adult in all respects; thus he is counted as one of the ten men necessary for Minyan* and among those who use phylacteries* (Tefillin) in weekday prayers.

Baron de Hirsch Fund (American):

Endowed by Baron and Baroness Maurice de Hirsch, in 1891, with $3,800,000. It founded the town of Woodbine, N.J., and subsidized immigration port-work; developed the Baron de Hirsch Trade Schools, New York; aids American agriculture through the Jewish Agricultural Society, New York. President, George W. Naumburg, Hon. Sec. Max J. Kohler.

Baruch Dayan Emes!:

"Praised be Thou, O Judge of Truth!" An utterance of resignation employed on hearing of a death, or receiving bad news.

Baruch She-Amar:

One of the oldest of the group of benedictions in the morning prayers according to the orthodox liturgy.

Beard:

The wearing of beards, and moustachios, was thoroughly Semitic, even where not ordained by religious ordinance against shaving, trimming of beards or the corners of earlocks. Generally regarded as a sign of manliness. It is safe to assume that the objection to shaving in olden times and even in the Middle Ages was that a smooth shaven face denoted either servitude, slaves were shaved and, what often went with slavery, sexual perversion.

Bedikah:

"Examination." The Hebrew term is in use in connection with the examining of the organs of cattle slain according to the Jewish ritual, and in the removal of "leaven" from the house prior to commencement of the Passover.

Bedikas Chametz:

Searching for leavened bread. On the night before the first Passover* evening the head of the family examines his residence thoroughly and collects the Chametz* which he has found and puts it in a safe place till the next morning when it is disposed of. This searching, like every other performance of a religious duty, is preceded by a blessing.

Michael Alper, A.B., M.A., M.H.L.
Rabbi, Dir. Jewish Education, Hebrew Orphan Asylum, N.Y.C.

Behalah:

A word meaning panic but applied in Poland and Lithuania to the marriage en masse of boys and girls during a panic. Child marriages were ordered by the rabbis at the Expulsion from Spain, and intended as an act of protection for girl children. The same motive guided the panic marriages in Poland. There was a Behalah in 1754 and another in 1834-35 in order to avoid conscription.

Benedictions:

The custom of reciting blessings or prayers of thanksgiving is traced back to the form of public worship introduced in the time of Ezra (Neh. ix.5). Rabbinic ordinances compelled the recital of one hundred blessings a day; this number is amply covered in the ordinary ritual. There are, however, scores of special benedictions recited by the orthodox to meet every possible occasion from hearing good news, to hearing the sound of thunder. The benedictions are always in praise of God, not prayers for aid.

Bet:

Second letter of the Hebrew alphabet; as a numeral it represents 2.

Bet:

"House"; applied by Talmudic writers in the sense of school or following of celebrated Jewish leaders. Thus there was a Bet hillel and a Bet Shammai.

Bet Din:

"Court house"; applied both to the religious and civil courts established in Jewish communities. Courts existed in Jerusalem prior to its destruction. In Talmudic times there was no distinction between civil and religious courts. Voluntary arbitration courts have been established in many communities and are referred to as Bet Din.

Bet Hamidrash:

"House of study"; applied to a religious or rabbinical high school, the primary school being designated Bet Hasefer. The religious high school is an old institution, and among the Yemenites its customs are continued in the traditional form. The Arabs use the term "medras" for the same institution, and these are conducted entirely in line with the old type of Hebrew school.

The term Bet Hamidrash has, however, another popular connotation, that of a secondary synagog, practically open at all times for prayer. It is used by adults for group-reading of the Talmud rather than for individual study.

Betrothal:

In the Bible (Gen. xxiv.) betrothal is a binding agreement preliminary to marriage, necessitated by the negotiations settling the property rights of both parties under the old land laws. In the Middle Ages, betrothal assumed the distinct character of a social function announcing an engagement. Bible Editions (Printed in Hebrew):

The early history of printing is almost the history of the printing of the Bible in any language. The utility of the press was quickly recognized by Jews and the oldest Hebrew text from a Jewish press is a part of the Psalms and commentary printed in 1477. The first edition of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, with vowel points and accents, appeared in Bologna in 1482. The printer was Abraham b. Hayyim dei Tintori of Pesaro. The more famous edition came from the Soncino8 press, 1492.

Bible Manuscripts:

The oldest texts extant are two copies of the Pentateuch presumed to have been written in the third cent. and preserved in Damascus. The Leningrad Library contains a mss. dated 916, and the oldest in the British Museum was written c.820-850. The Vatican has one of the same period. The former Imperial Library of St. Petersburg contained one presumably written in the sixth cent. in Daghestan. As mutilated copies of the Pentateuch are buried ancient mss. of it are rare.

For ritual purposes the Bible is used in synagog in mss. form, according to the system and rules devised by the Masorites.

Bible Translations:

The oldest translations of the Bible were the Targums, or interpretations into Aramaic to which there is a possible allusion in Ezra (Neh. viii.8) but these were not in writing. The Letter of Aristeas* details the preparation of the Septuagint version, and this exists in a Vatican codex of the fourth cent. This version included the Pseudepigrapha, i.e., works originally written in Greek, or outside of Palestine which were not accepted in the Canon. The next important translation into Greek was that of Aquila, distributed c. 170. He was followed by Symmachus the Ebionite, and Theodotion, a convert to Judaism. Origen (185-254) and Jerome (346-420) completed the next translations, the former compiling the six column version known as the Hexapla. The Syriac or Peshitta translation and the earliest Latin translations are of the second cent. The Vulgate as adopted in 1546 by the Council of Trent and based on Jerome's translation and the Douai Bible is the authorized Catholic version in English was issued in 1609. The first French translation dates to the 13th cent. and the first Italian to the 14th cent. The first English bible is Wycliffe's though parts of the Bible were translated into Anglo-Saxon in the 8th, 9th and 10th cent. The first Bohemian translation was that of John Huss, and Luther's translation of the Old Testament was first issued in 1534. Beginning with the King James' Version many translations have been made in English, by groups of scholars or individuals. The Revised Version, and the Jewish Publication Society's version are most popular today among Jews.

Bikkur Holim:

"Visiting the sick." Though there is no direct reference to this duty in the Pentateuch the rabbis made it not only a serious obligation, but one of three great social virtues, the other two being the greeting of a bride, and attendance at funerals or comforting mourners.

Bills Of Exchange:

Hallam states that orders to pay money to a particular person were introduced by the Jews in 1183, they having control of money, "and a great part of inland trade in general" ("Europe in the Middle Ages," chap. ix.) from after the sixth cent. He traces the earliest known bill of exchange to 1364. Montesquieu states that Jews first issued bills of exchange, negotiable instruments in Lombardy in order to rescue the effects they had not been able to take out of France when they were exiled from that country by Philip Augustus, 1306, and Philip the Long, 1321. ("Esprit des Lois" XXI., chap. xvi.)

Bilu:

Compounded from the initials of the sentence: Bet Ya'akob Lechu Venelecha (House of Jacob let us rise and go.) It was the name given to the first groups of Russian high school students who in 1882 proceeded to Palestine to establish agricultural settlements, and many of whom lost their lives in the effort. They made their first attempt at Gedera; Rishon Le-Zion was founded by them. Of the original group David Levontin, former manager, of the Anglo-Palestine Company, Tel. Aviv, survives.

Blessing Of Children:

The custom of parents blessing their children is first clearly referred to in the story of Esau and Jacob (Gen. xxvii. 38), Jacob's dying blessing of his sons is a dramatic feature of the closing narrative of his life, as is Moses' blessing of the tribes (Deut. xxiii.). The custom thus originated has been continued through the ages. On Friday evening a father blesses his sons: "God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh" (Gen. xlviii. 20) and his daughters: "God make thee as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah." Mothers had the custom of blessing their daughters on the night before marriage with the words "May you be worthy of becoming the mother of the Messiah."

B'nai B'rith:

The Order was founded October 13, 1843, by 12 men in New York who, under the leadership of Henry Jones, organized at Sinsheimer's Cafe in Essex Street. The first name chosen was Bundes Bruder which was later changed to Independent Order of B'nai B'rith. At the 13th quinquennial convention of the Order in Cincinnati in April 1930, the name was shortened to B'nai B'rith. The first B'nai B'rith lodge was established in New York, November 12, 1843. On January 1, 1933, there were 403 lodges in the United States and Canada, and 215 in 26 other countries throughout the world. Although organized and for a time dominated by the German-Jewish element, it early became a democratic organization and is today the only group in many communities where Jews of all shades of belief may foregather.

 In the early years the Order confined itself to the establishment and maintenance of orphanages and homes for widows and the aged, and other eleemosynary institutions, in addition to the work of Americanizing the flood of east European Jews then pouring into the country. Recently, however, it has extended its sphere so that today it supports the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundations, the Aleph Zadik Aleph, its junior auxiliary, the Anti-Defamation League, and the "B'nai B'rith Magazine," a national Jewish cultural monthly. Since the depression, the Order is one of the leading organizations to attack discrimination against Jews in industry. The present Constitution of the Order was adopted in 1868 at which time Julius Bien was elected president. He served until 1900 at which time he was succeeded by Leo N. Levi upon whose untimely death in 1904 Simon Wolf became president ad interim. In 1905, Adolf Kraus was elected president and held the office for 20 years to be succeeded by the present incumbent, Alfred M. Cohen, who was elected in 1925 and reelected in 1930.

The secretaries were as follows:

M. Ellinger, 1868-79
M. Thalmessinger, 1879-90
Sol Sulzberger, 1890-1905
A. B. Seelenfreund, 1905-23
Leon L. Lewis, 1923-25
Boris D. Bogen, 1925-29
I.M. Rubinow, 1929

I. M. Rubinow, M.D., Ph.D Sec. B'nai B'rith Cincinnati, Ohio.

Book Of Life:

An eschatological concept, to which there is some general reference in the Scriptures and apocryphal writings. The idea, that God has a muster roll of all the living, and that either the New Year or the Day of Atonement is a Judgment Day, with Hoshana Rabba, as a final day of appeal against adverse judgments, became popular in the Middle Ages. The concept is regarded as Babylonian in origin. Its clearest and most popular expression is to be found in a few verses in the Abinu Malkenu, and Unetanneh Tokef.

Box On The Ear:

A cruel custom instituted at Easter by Charlemagne, in which the Jew was given a sufficient blow to fell him. In the middle of the 12th cent. the custom was converted into a tax which the Jews had to pay to the Canons of St. Serin of Toulouse.

Breastplate:

The most conspicuous ornament worn by the high priest, the form and detail of which is fully outlined in Scripture (Ex. xxviii. 13-30 and xxxix. 8-21). It contained twelve gems of varying colors to represent the twelve tribes. Its general design is still copied in the breastplates used to adorn Scrolls of the Law.

Bridegroom of Genesis; and Of The Law:

These fanciful designations, of two men who assist in the service of the Rejoicing of the Law (Simhat Torah) when the reading of the last chapter of Deuteronomy is immediately followed by the recital of the first chapter of Genesis, probably originated in Gaonic times when the readers of these chapters wore crowns, headgear which was also adopted by bridegrooms at the marriage ceremony. The "bridegrooms" still assist in the orthodox ritual, though their appointment in the past often was the cause of considerable friction. The elder Disraeli* withdrew from Judaism because he refused to function as a Bridegroom of the Law. There have been other instances of opposition to the custom.

B'rith Shalom:

"Covenant of Peace." A Jewish organization to improve Arab-Jewish relations in Palestine, organized about 1927 which came into prominence during the riots of 1929. It attempted to negotiate with Arab leaders regarded as responsible for the tragedy, and it advanced some plans for solving the differences between the Jews and the Arabs.

Brokers, Jew:

Traders were known as brokers in the 13th cent., but the term "Jew broker," sometimes used derisively, was first used in England after the resettlement in 1656 to designate those Jews who were permitted to trade on the Stock Exchange or engage in the commerce of the East and West Indies. Solomon Dormido was the first Jew admitted to the London Exchange, 1657, and he was followed by enough Jews to occasion the setting apart of a section known as "Jew's Walk."

Burial:

What might be called the ritual of death, and the precise details of burial were at all times matters of earnest consideration to Jewish teachers. Though a few incidents of cremation are mentioned in the Bible (I Samuel xxi. 12), this mode of disposing of the dead was regarded as conferring a stigma on the deceased. The practice of rapid burial, within 24 or 36 hours of the demise is based on Deut. xxi. 23. The Jews did not practice embalming though the material for preserving the body, asphalt, the Egyptian name of which is mummi, came from the Dead Sea area and the transportation of it is frequently mentioned by ancient writers. The common practice was burial in the ground, or in caves, the use of tombs and the making of sarcophagi being evidently limited to the great and the wealthy. The injunction to order simple funerals is old, and there is evidence of protest against the pomp of Herod's funeral.

The morbid interest in funeral rites was no doubt greatly intensified by the law of Hadrian who forbade the burial of those slain in the Bar Kokba war, and the zealous interest in providing the dead with decent and permanent resting places at that time led, according to one authority to the writing of the Book of Tobit. Many impressive customs associated with burial owe their origin no doubt to local conditions. Thus in Jerusalem, to avoid molestation, the dead were till recently mostly buried at night; no coffins were used, probably because wood was extremely scarce.

The desire for burial in consecrated ground resulted in the curious fact that our first recorded information of many communities is a deed or permit for a cemetery. Until within recent times the preparation of the dead for burial and the conduct of the funeral, etc., were volunteer tasks in which the pious associated themselves in a Hevra Kadisha,* a type of organization, which with its customs, ordinances, and special festivals, is peculiar to the Jews and ghetto traditions.