When do Jews celebrate Christmas? Jews Celebrate Hanukkah, Catholics Celebrate Christmas
Jews celebrate their New Year- Rosh Hashanah, which falls on September-October (the month of Tishri). This holiday means the beginning of the year and symbolizes the day when the Almighty finished the process of creation of the world. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on lunar calendar, necessarily on the new moon, only on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. These are the days when believers take stock of the outgoing year and plan things for the coming year.
During the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, Jews perform tashlich - they throw pieces of bread or pebbles into the river or sea while reading prayers, which symbolizes cleansing from sins.
Relatives and friends should be congratulated, give gifts, wish the best in the coming year. Families gather at the traditional table with symbolic refreshments. These are apples in honey (sweet life), carrots cut into circles (a symbol of wealth), challah with raisins (a symbol of health), vegetables and fruits (a symbol of a rich harvest). Completes the celebration of the New Year Yom Kippur - the Day of forgiveness and repentance.
The usual date for celebrating the New Year, January 1, was practically not celebrated in Israel 20 years ago. Appearance in the country a large number emigrants from the former USSR led to the fact that this holiday gradually took root here. In Israel, he is called "Sylvester". It's not even a public holiday, except when the first day falls on a Saturday. It is celebrated traditionally, with New Year's TV shows, with family and friends, with Olivier salad, caviar and champagne.
Christmas celebration
The most common religion in Israel is Judaism, but, nevertheless, Christmas is celebrated in the country as a national and world-class holiday. Many religious pilgrims and tourists come to Bethlehem, where in the Basilica of the Nativity, the place where Jesus was born, a festive service is held all night. This small town is transformed on Christmas days - there are elegant shining Christmas trees on the streets, shop windows attract buyers with numerous goods, everything sparkles and shimmers.
Christmas services are held throughout the country, in the most famous temples: the Upper Cathedral Church, Katholikon, the cave of the Nativity, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, in Nazareth, both on December 25, according to the Catholic tradition, and on January 7, according to the Orthodox.
On Christmas Eve, believers can touch the Star of Bethlehem, located in the cave where Jesus was born.
Periodically, Christmas may coincide in date with the original Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (the festival of candles). This holiday arose as a tribute to the victory of the Jews over the Greeks, and it is celebrated for a week, when every evening one new candle is lit in a special menorah candlestick.
The day after tomorrow Catholics will celebrate Christmas
On the night of December 24-25, the Catholics of the world, most Protestant and other Christian denominations will celebrate Christmas.
Christmas is celebrated by churches that adhere to the Gregorian calendar. These are Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Protestants, some Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals and Orthodox. The transition of the Orthodox Local Churches, except for the Russian, Jerusalem and Serbian, to the Gregorian calendar took place in 1920. But in Ukraine and Russia, Christmas is celebrated thirteen days later - on the seventh of January.
Christmas is a great holiday established to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. This is one of the most important Christian and public holidays in more than a hundred countries around the world. In the thirteenth century, during
Francis of Assisi, a custom arose to exhibit mangers in temples for worship, in which the figure of the baby Jesus is placed. Over time, mangers began to be set up not only in the temple, but also in houses before Christmas. Home santons - models in glazed boxes - depict a grotto, baby Jesus lies in a manger, next to the Mother of God, Joseph, an angel, shepherds who came to worship, as well as animals - a bull, a donkey. The meaning of the holiday, noted the late Pope John Paul II, is lost in the pursuit of Christmas gifts, in the predominance of a consumerist attitude towards Christmas in society. Therefore, the pope encouraged to celebrate Christmas, exchanging modest gifts and doing charity work.
In Kharkov, the solemn Christmas Liturgy will begin on Saturday, December 24 at 20.00 in the Roman Catholic Cathedral parish of the Assumption of the Ever-Virgin Mary (Gogol St., 4). On Sunday, December 25, the bright Nativity of the Lord will be celebrated there with Holy Liturgies: at 9.00 - in Polish, at 12.00 - in Russian and at 18.30 -
in Ukrainian.
Holiday Hanukkah
On Monday, December 26, Jews celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah.
The holiday of Hanukkah (Consecration) is not a "Jewish Christmas". It was erected in honor of the victory of the Jewish soldiers led by the brothers Maccabees over the Greco-Syrian
invaders in 165 BC.
When to power in 175 BC. came Antiochus Epiphanes, the Hellenization of the non-Greek population took on especially harsh forms. King Antioch forbade all manifestations of the religious life of the Jews: the Torah became a forbidden book, the observance of Jewish laws was a serious crime. Antiochus gave his name to the city of Jerusalem. Idols were set up everywhere, the king demanded the worship of pagan gods. When the Jerusalem Temple was defiled by order of Antiochus (the conquerors dragged a huge statue of Zeus there, the temple treasures were confiscated and the Temple itself was plundered), the Jews, under the leadership of the Maccabees - the father and his sons - raised an uprising in Judea.
Compared with the army of Antiochus, the rebel army was small and poorly armed. Yehuda Maccabee, who commanded it, avoided open battles because of this, preventing the enemy from taking advantage of the numerical advantage. Attacking individual units
Greeks, the rebel army won one victory after another. In three years, she drove the conquerors out of the country and liberated Jerusalem, proving that a lofty goal and fortitude are sometimes decisive. Jewish wisdom says, "A little light is enough to dispel much darkness."
The Jerusalem Temple was quickly restored, but in order to consecrate it, it was necessary to light a huge temple lamp - the menorah (one hundred kilograms of hammered gold). The fire in the menorah had to burn constantly - day after day, month after month. However, there was no special oil: its stocks were destroyed by the Greeks, and the preparation of a new one was a rather lengthy process. Luckily, only a small jar of precious oil was found in the temple. It was poured into the menorah. And then a miracle happened: one jug of oil was enough for the menorah to burn for all eight days required to prepare a new portion of oil. Thus the Temple was consecrated. In Hebrew, consecration sounds like Hanukkah. In honor of this event, an eight-day holiday was established.
On each of the eight evenings of the holiday, a special candlestick for nine candles, Hanukkah, is lit. Eight candles are Hanukkah, and the ninth is auxiliary (the stove and other necessary fires are lit from it). It is customary to move Hanukkah to the window so that its light can be seen far away on the street. On this holiday, children are given money, part of which they are obliged to give to those in need.
An interesting fact is that in Israel there is not one, but as many as 4 New Years, while it is worth noting that none of them is celebrated on the first of January. This is due to the fact that even before the dispersion of the Jewish people, there were 4 annual cycles that depended on certain dates, hence the 4 New Years - Nisan 1, Elul 1, Shevat 15 (Tu Bishvat) and Tishrei 1 Rosh Hashanah.
1 Nissan in 2016 is celebrated on April 9- begins in the spring and is intended to count the reign of all the Kings in Israel. In fact, Nissan in Israel is a month. Another feature of Israel is that even if the King began his reign a month before Nissan, the second year of his reign began from the first day. This new year does not particularly celebrate the holiday, but prepare for the most important date in the Jewish calendar - Nisan 14, the holiday of Pesach, that is, Easter.
1 Elul in 2016 falls on September 4- usually celebrated in summer in August or in autumn in September. Elul is also the name of the month. This New Year is dedicated to one of the most important customs of Israel - the separation of the tenth of the cattle that was born during the current year. It is worth noting that the livestock that was born last year was forbidden to be included in the tithe, and the animals must be "clean" (the "clean" animals include oxen, sheep, goats, deer, chamois, buffalo, fallow deer, bison, antelope , Mountain sheep).
Tu Bishvat in 2016 is celebrated on January 25 This new year is celebrated in the month of Shevat on the 15th. The Bible says that it is necessary to separate a tenth of the fruit harvest and donate it to the priests, Levites, the poor and the needy. According to tradition in Israel, this New Year, it is customary for the whole family to plant at least one tree. And on the table in Tu Bishvat, there must be at least seven types of fruits.
Rosh Hashanah 2016 starts on October 2nd and ends on October 4th- 1 Tishrei is celebrated and is considered the main among the 4 New Years. It is he who is intended to calculate the years, and is also considered the day of the creation of the world. According to the Jews, this is the day when the Lord decides the fate of people. Jews believe that God is kind and merciful, so he will show mercy and compassion. As with us, it is customary to give gifts, arrange a festive dinner and wish Happy New Year. If Rosh Hashanah does not fall on Saturday, then on this holiday they blow the shofar as a symbol that the Lord reigns over the whole Earth.
Jewish Passover (Pesach) in 2016
This is one of the most important holidays in Israel. Passover or Passover is celebrated for seven days from Nisan 15 to Nisan 21. This is the period when Moses led the people out of Egyptian slavery. The holiday begins on Nisan 14 in the evening, when the whole family gathers around the festive table. This evening it is customary to read the Haggadah - the story of how Moses led Israel out of Egypt. From the very next day, a festive week begins, when it is customary to pray, meditate on God and free yourself from routine work. Most of the enterprises are closed for seven days, while the rest of the working day lasts only until noon.
Yom Kippur in 2016
It is celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Tishri and is a symbol of the day of judgment. On this holiday, according to the Torah, it is necessary to analyze and reason about your actions throughout the year. On the eve of Yom Kippur, Jews arrange a rich family meal, after which a strict fast begins until the very end of the Day of Judgment. Everyone tries to visit the synagogue. As with many holidays, it is forbidden to work on Yom Kippur, so all businesses and institutions are closed, and the streets of the city are often empty. The holiday ends with the fact that at sunset, every Jew must say the final prayer.
Purim in 2016
Purim is celebrated on Adar 14 and is dedicated to the salvation of the Jewish people from oppression in the Persian kingdom. Purim is translated as a lot, and it was through the lot that the adviser of Ahasuerus (the king of Persia) determined the day when it was necessary to exterminate all the Jews. However, fortunately, the wife of the king just turned out to be a Jewess (Esther), who subsequently persuaded the king to change his mind about the Israelite people. On this day, it is customary for Jews to show performances that tell the story of the feat of Esther, and on the streets they sell gomentashi - triangles, inside of which there is jam, a rich feast is also arranged and everyone exchanges various treats.
Sukkot in 2016
Sukkot is also called the Feast of Tabernacles and begins on the 15th day of the month of Tishri. It lasts all week and is a reminder of wandering through the Sinai desert. Initially, it was customary to live all week in the so-called huts, or as they are also called sukkahs. However, this custom is not followed today. During the holiday, as before, you can see huts in the yards and on the balconies, but few people spend the whole week there. Often, Israelis have a festive family meal in these huts all week long. And before the holiday in the cities you can find special bazaars where they sell decorations for sukkahs, palm branches, devices for building a hut, and so on.
Shavuot in 2016
Shavuot is celebrated on Sivan 6 and is a reminder of the giving of the Ten Commandments by the Lord on Mount Sinai. And also for this holiday, the harvest ripens. That is why on Shavuot it is customary to decorate houses with fruits, green branches and flowers. Parents send their children to school and gardens with wreaths and baskets full of various fruits. And in the synagogues they read the Holy Scriptures and pray to God.
Israel Independence Day 2016
This can also be attributed to the main holidays in the country and is celebrated on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday closest to 5 Iyar. On Israel's Independence Day, it is customary to arrange noisy parades and processions, sometimes with military equipment. In the synagogues, festive prayers are said, and on the streets you can enjoy evening concerts with dances, interesting performances and fireworks.
Hanukkah in 2016
Hanukkah begins on the 25th of the month of Kislev, and ends on the 2nd or 3rd of Tevet and is celebrated for 8 days. After the army of Judas Maccabee defeated the army of King Antiochus, the Jews had to consecrate their temples, but the oil they found was desecrated by the enemies. And there was only one jug of pure oil left, which could last only for one day. However, God performed a miracle and the oil burned for eight days. Therefore, the Jews called this date the feast of candles or fire. According to tradition, on the first day in each house it is customary to light one candle, on the second day there are already two, and so on. All children are also given toys and money.
Dear Christians, I ask you to read this text without irritation, read it and understand what kind of man-hating and vile book of the Jews you have chosen as your "holy" scripture! The Christian Bible is the canonical description of two religions connected in a single plan: Judaism ( Old Testament) and Christianity (New Testament). The Old Testament is based on the commandments of Jehovah - Moses. The New Testament is based on the commandments of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christians who united the Old (Judaism) and New (Christian) Testaments in their canon should be called "Jewish Christians". The Biblical Old Testament is a part of the Jewish Torah distorted by Christians, containing ...
10 stereotypes about America
Author: kilgor_trautt Thanks to Elvira Baryakina for the tipAmerica is a country that provides such ground for creating its stereotypical perception, which is hardly provided by all the countries of the world combined. After selecting a dozen of them, I decided to try to deconstruct them. Stereotype 1. “There is no delicious food in America - all food is synthetic. All Americans eat fast food and constantly visit McDonald's eateries. Absolutely not true. America is a country of a thriving restaurant business, and in almost every American city you will find the entire geographical range of restaurants - from Ukrainian cuisine to...
09-01-2004
Usually those who are waiting for the holiday itself can miss the most important thing. In any case, in America, the celebration is in preparation for the holidays. Even before the start of winter, the entire American people are beginning to celebrate Christmas ahead of time. Immediately after Thanksgiving, and in some places even after Halloween, houses and shop windows are already decorated in a Christmas way. Everywhere there are Christmas trees and other signs of the holiday. Christmas is America's prime shopping season, without which the American economy would not survive.
What about our Jews? Are they aloof from American life, don't want to be good Americans, which often means being good consumers. Naturally, they want to, and although they don’t celebrate Christmas, the Jews have Hannuka for this season, also with the lighting of candles, holiday gifts and everything else that the neighbors have. Otherwise it is impossible. After all, everything should be, according to the well-known American proverb, “like the neighbors of the Johnsons.” So politically correct neighbors say “Happy Holidays” to each other so as not to inadvertently hurt religious feelings. The question of how the holiday of Hannuk, symbolizing the rebellion against assimilation, became one of the main Jewish holidays in America, replacing Christmas, we will discuss another time. We only note that an old tradition tells the Jews to play in Hannuka gambling, in particular, start up a top. Well, what about Christmas?
“For Jewish Christmas and Turkish Passover,” our neighbor Aunt Katya used to say in her childhood when she wanted to emphasize the improbability of some event. "Jewish Christmas" has become the subject of numerous jokes, skits and songs. One of the first Jewish silent films was called Jewish Christmas, staged in 1913. It is about the marriage of Rabbi Ley's daughter to a non-Jew. The rabbi cursed his daughter, but the birth of his granddaughter forced him to reconsider his attitude, and he comes to the family on Christmas Eve with a big Christmas tree. Jewish Christmas is the title of Steve Goody's 2002 comedy on American stages. John Levin's hilarious comedy Merry Christmas is on provincial American stages this year.
What does Jewish religious tradition say about Christmas?
It turns out that at Christmas, which is called by the Jews “nitl or “nitlnacht” (that is, the night “nitl”), tradition also prescribes gambling. On this day, the only one of the year, the study of the Torah by Jews is even canceled - the main occupation, decent for a God-fearing Jewish person. The obligation to learn the Torah is considered one of the main covenants among devout Jews, and in other cases is canceled only during personal or communal mourning.
Why is such an important covenant canceled on Christmas, we asked our friend, a rabbi who lives in the religious Jewish district of Muncie in New Jersey. The answer was that on Christmas Eve the Jews were afraid to leave the house, so as not to annoy the celebrating, and often great Christian neighbors. But Jews would not be Jews if they had everything so simple. Even the Torah is interpreted by the Jews in different levels- simple - "pshat", what is written, the second layer - "drash" - the traditional Talmudic interpretation. There is also “remez”, literally “hint”, a mystical meaning that is revealed only to those who comprehend the teachings of the Cabal and the most intimate level - “sod” - literally “mystery”, the divine meaning of the text, which is revealed only to the most learned and righteous people. The rabbi also interpreted the ban on studying the Torah at Christmas mystically: Jewish study of the Torah brings goodness and order to the world. Therefore, when non-Jewish neighbors are immersed in their prayers, it is not good to study, otherwise you can create a deceptive impression that grace comes from neighbors' prayers.
Mottle, a student at a Hasidic yeshiva in New York, told us that no Torah was taught on Christmas Eve, lest the neighbors think they were teaching in honor of Jesus, whose teaching brought so much trouble to the Jewish people. On this night, - confirmed Motl, - it is customary to play cards and indulge in other entertainments. Note that religious tradition allows and even recommends gambling on the Jewish winter holiday of Hannuk. As Abrash said to the author, an old Jerusalem shoikhet, a carver engaged in the ritual slaughter of a bird, “If the Lord takes something away, then he inevitably gives something in return. Forbids to eat blood, but gives to eat liver, forbids to drink, but decides to get drunk on Purim. So it is with playing cards for money, which is allowed for Jews on certain days.” It is known that the Jews played "Quitl", which in English is Black Jack, and in Russian "Twenty-one" or "Point".
Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, chaplain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lists a list of activities that Jews who retain their national identity do on Christmas: going to a Chinese restaurant in the evening, going to the movies, a trip to Hawaii or the Caribbean, gambling in Atlantic City or Las -Vegas. It is unlikely that many readers of Rabbi Plaut's wonderful book “Silent Night? Jews at Christmas in America, subtitled Issues of Self-Identity vs. Seasonal Marginality, guess that gambling at Christmas is a continuation of an old Jewish tradition common among German and Eastern European Jews.
Nor do many Israeli rabbis, who forbid mass Christmas festivities in banquet halls, hotels and restaurants, have no idea. So last year, the rabbi of Herzliya, under the threat of deprivation of a kosher license, banned the celebration of Christmas in the Sheraton on the Mediterranean coast. Under the threat of a boycott by religious guests, a festive Christmas Eve party at the Paradise Hotel in Beersheba was cancelled. But there it was about a Sephardic rabbi, far from the tradition of European Jews. Israel's problem is that Ashkenazi rabbis familiar with the European tradition political reasons often not promoted to the posts of chief rabbis, and the rabbis of European origin themselves are well versed in Talmudic scholarship, but are often not familiar with folk tradition and tradition. Only the Hasidim and Haredim still remember and carefully preserve folk customs. The prohibition of studying the Torah on Christmas Eve is contained in the halakhic theological code "Sefer Mit'amim", in the chapter "Nitl". It is there that it is forbidden to leave the house on Christmas Eve, so as not to be beaten. It also contains the abolition of the covenant of studying the Torah, so as not to teach in honor of That person (Christ).”
The Talmud, and after it other religious Jewish sources, often avoid calling Christ by name, but use the code words He, That Man. "No one" and others. This practice is common not only in relation to Jesus, but to all the characters who served as a source of trouble. The Talmud contains a legend about great sages and scholars who went to heaven alive. Only the great rabbi Akiva passed the test. One of his companions lost his mind, and the other, who was also considered a great teacher, Elisha ben Avui, lost his head and “pan le tarbut zara -“ turned into a foreign culture. Since then, the Talmud calls him "Acher" - in modern meaning another, alien. The Jerusalem linguist professor Yehezkel Kucher proved in one of his brilliant articles that “aher meant in Talmudic Aramaic not someone else's, but forbidden, but also depraved. And indeed, pork forbidden for Jewish food is also called “davar akher” - another thing. It is not surprising that the Jews also called Christ "That Man." In a paradoxical Jewish sense, this meant roughly the same as the sarcastic Babel “that boy” in the famous memoirs of Konstantin Paustovsky.
For the same reason, MIT Rabbi Plaut uses the code name Xmas, which is common among religious English-speaking Jews. In English, Christmas is Christmas, but, avoiding calling Christ by name, the rabbi substitutes the letter X. We are not talking here about the biblical covenant, “not to take the name of the Lord in vain”, as, say, religious Jews call the Lord “Hash”, i.e. literally "Name (His)". And even then in Hebrew today only the first letter Hey is written - a definite article, and English-speaking believers write G-d. Following their example, Russian Jews began to write G-d, casting doubt on readers versed in Russian grammar. An honored teacher of the Russian language with 55 years of experience, and even a rabbinic daughter from a small eastern Ukrainian town, when she first saw the word “Gd” on paper, tried to argue. A young rabbi who came from the USA with the aim of Jewish enlightenment reassured her in purely Russian: “Be patient, get used to it.” However, many Jews avoid even using the plus sign, and in Israeli schools, on calculators and keyboards, it is replaced by an icon where there is no lower vertical line.
Exmas is not a Jewish invention in the same category. The Greek letter X, short for Christos, was widely used in ancient and medieval manuscripts. There you can also find the abbreviation HP, meaning Christmas and XP - Sunday. In the era of printed books, X disappeared from texts, but remained on icons and church emblems, as well as on crucifixes XC, IXC, XPC, and the most common “sigla” is the combined Greek letters chi (X) and ro (P). Xmas is now widely included in politically correct commercial American English, where Christmas goods are sought to be sold not only to Christians. Computer language, where instead of “for” (for) they write a four, and “electronic” is denoted by the letter “e”, found the letter “x” suitable for designating Christian things.
Recently I had to read a representative survey on whether the Jews are allowed to have a Christmas tree. Rabbis and scientists, social activists and community members spoke out on this non-trivial topic. We will add a little Jewish story to the discussion. Once a Jew comes to the Rabbi and says:
You know that I am a pious person. And I read prayers, and I fulfill covenants. I even wear hats at home. But now, on New Year's Eve, I want to light candles with my family.
Light it up, the Rebbe answers.
But, so that the candles on the Christmas tree. Can I put up a tree?
It's impossible. It is forbidden according to our divine and human laws.
How is it, Rebbe? I was walking the other evening, I looked into your window ... and there the Christmas tree sparkles with lights. What's the difference? Why can you and I can't?
The difference is big, - answers the rabbi, - I didn't ask anyone's permission.
In a major St. Petersburg newspaper, we found an interesting article about what Jews do at Christmas. They go to Chinese restaurants and to the cinema, they held a festival of making traditional Easter koloboks from matzo flour “matze-ball”. Many have volunteered at nursing homes, orphanages, hospitals, wherever Christian staff take their Christmas holidays.
In the last issue, we noted that in Hebrew Christmas night is called “Nitl” or “Nittlnacht”. Nacht in Yiddish, as well as in German means “night”, but there is no consensus about the origin of the word “nitl”. Our rabbi friend from Muncie (New Jersey) derives it from the Talmudic Aramaic "nitul" - to deprive, to lose. Like, “the day is called nitl because we are deprived of studying in the Holy Torah.” A student of the Hasidic Yeshibbot, Motl, told us, however, that “nitl” is any Christian holiday when it is impossible to study the Torah, so that they would not think that we are doing study for the glory of Him (Christ). He also said that on Christmas Eve a Jew had to stay at home, during the night drunken neighbors could beat him or even kill him. It is no coincidence that in the most interesting section “Philologos” of the Jewish newspaper “Forwards”, from where we borrowed part of the material, the Hebrew word for Christmas heard in the Jewish district of Brooklyn Williamsburg is mentioned - “Christmas -“ Kratzmah ”. The word is slang and means something like “cut”.
But all this folk interpretations. Scientific interpretation derives the word "nitl" from other sources. Christmas Eve, in German, too, “Weihnacht” which is an exact translation of the Latin “natalis dies” (natalis dies), from where both the Italian natale and the French noel (noel). Scholars derive the Hebrew word nitl from this.
As is known, the Old Fantsz words are included in the most ancient linguistic layer of the Hebrew language Yiddish. In French noel, or in Old French nael, the letter “t” disappeared already at the beginning of the 12th century. That is, the word nitl could have entered the Hebrew language from Old French, and possibly from Latin, no later than the 11th century. and not earlier than IV. Until the 4th century Christians themselves hardly celebrated Christmas. If so, then this word refers to the few words that came into Jewish use from the Latin of the Roman Empire. The author knows only one more Hebrew word "cholent" - a traditional Jewish Sabbath dish, which comes from the Latin colunbinumn porridge with meat, languishing in the oven for a long time.
Linguistics is an exact science. In any case, no less accurate than physics or chemistry. Linguists know that if a transformation of sounds occurs in words, then this phenomenon is not accidental, but massive, limited by the exact laws of scientific phonetics and historical boundaries. The replacement of the sound “a” by “y” by the Jews is quite common (the German was became “vus” in the Hebrew). The transformation from “y” to “and” is also common (German butter became Jewish peter). But linguists do not find a double transformation, like from Latin natalis to Hebrew thread. Probably, here we are not talking about the process of natural replacement of sounds known to linguists, but about a deliberate play on words, about a pun. Probably the word “nitl” comes from the word “nit”, i.e. Nothing, as Jesus was also called, and “nitl” is a diminutive form. So Christmas Eve is “a little nothing”.
Biting and paradoxical, prone to puns and suggestiveness, the never-depressing Jewish mind created a considerable amount of puns around Christmas. The solid "Atlas of the language and culture of Ashkenazi Jews" in the third volume analyzes Jewish rituals and customs associated with Christmas. The authors of the “Atlas” also believe that “nitl” comes from the Latin natalis, i.e. the sound "a" could be replaced by "i". But then “nitl” could not come from “nit” - nothing, but comes from another Hebrew word “nitle” - hanged - one of the many rabbinic epithets for Jesus. The Jewish “History of Jesus” (“Toldot Yeshu”), also known as the “Hanged Man Story”, is a kind of anti-gospel, written either in the 6th or in the 11th century. in Hebrew and was attributed to one of the greatest authorities of the Talmud, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai. This work is at odds with the canonical Talmudic tradition, and even more so with the Gospels. It was widely known among the Jews of the Middle Ages, and in the 16th century it was translated into Latin. According to the “Hanged Man Story”, Jesus performed miracles only because he was “Baal Shem” (lit. “owner of the (God’s) Name”), i.e. sorcerer. He allegedly borrowed from the Jerusalem Temple full name God, the so-called Shem a-male” and lost its miraculous power when this amulet was taken away from him. Incidentally, the “Tale” tells that Jesus bewitched himself from execution by hanging on a tree, so one of the judges of the Sanhedrin offered to hang him on cabbage, which, by God’s will, had grown to enormous sizes. The etymology of nitl" from the hanged man is also confirmed by the fact that in the western dialect of Yiddish, which was spoken by people from the Rhineland in Germany, Christmas Eve was called "taluy-nakht" - i.e. "Night of the Hanged Man" However, there is no reason why "nit" - nothing or "nitle" - deprived (of the opportunity to learn Torah) did not contribute to the play on words.
The Atlas gives other examples of puns related to Christmas. In Ukraine and Bessarabia, Jews called Christmas Eve "a-blinde nakht" - i.e. blind night. Here is a play on words from Ukrainian. “The Holy Vechir is remade into a “Slipiy Vechir,” and then the pun is translated into Hebrew. In some regions of Belarus, Yiddish-speaking Jews used the word “illness” to refer to Christmas. This is an artificial word, created from the Polish “izdvo” - Christmas and the Belarusian “ailments” - sick. In Western Poland, another nickname is noted “beiz-gebeirtinish” - a terrible birth. Here is a play on words from the Polish “Bose Narodzenie” Boze Narodzenie. The alteration of God's into "base" is not an accident. Zealous “defenders of the divine often pursued anti-Semitic, and in fact anti-biblical goals.
For many national and religious minorities in Eastern Europe, Christian holidays often turned into disaster. Not only Jews, but also Orthodox “schismatics” who lived in Poland, or even Christians of the Byznati rite “Uniates”, or the same “Uniates” or Catholics in Russia could suffer both from carolers who took a sip, and from those who went out to traditional fist fights “wall to wall ” peasants, and from the authorities. Yes, and their own Russian Orthodox Old Believers were afraid to go out on Christmas. The remarkable Russian writer Melnikov-Pechersky, who sympathetically described being the Old Believers of the Trans-Volga region, was himself a tsarist prosecutor and a cruel persecutor of the “old faith”. His report to the authorities has been preserved, where he victoriously reports on the action carried out against the Old Believers on Christmas Eve itself. On the modern language you can’t name it other than a cleansing. The Jews have always had only one powerful weapon - laughter. Jews joked in any circumstances and could make fun of anything, even a pogrom, a blood libel or the Holocaust. When it's funny, it's not scary. Jewish humor, sharp, harsh and paradoxical, accompanied the Jewish people everywhere, and became one of the most striking symbols of the Jewish genius.
In the collection of Jewish proverbs by Ignatius Bernstein, one can also find the proverb “Nitl - a beyze leyd” - Nitl is a terrible grief. Here is another play on the words "leid" - grief and "leida" - birth. As in the example of “taluy nakht”, it is interesting to note the amazing ability of Yiddish to create compound words from elements of Hebrew origin along with words of Germanic, Slavic or other etymology. “Taluy” is from the Hebrew “hanged man”, and “nakht” is from the German “night”; "leid" is from German, and "leid" is from Hebrew. A huge number of examples of Jewish word usage convincingly proves that the bilingualism of Eastern European Jews, who allegedly spoke Yiddish at home in “mameloshn mother’s jargon” and “sacred language” in “loyshenkoydesh” in official and religious communication, is just a convenient scheme for philologists. In fact, we are talking about one language. The great genius of the Jewish people freely and unconstrainedly used all the richness of the Hebrew language, borrowed expressive means from everywhere and did not care much to distinguish where is “Jewish” and where is not, where is “sacred” and where is “secular”. The same is evidenced by the bright and juicy language of Sholom Aleichem, where Tevye the Milkman, out of place and in place, wove complex Aramaic phrases into everyday speech, both from the Bible and the Talmud, and invented or distorted on the go. Here, the blessing sometimes acquires a swearing meaning, and the learned quotation has an ironic, scurrilous, and even obscene overtones.
It is significant that using all the richness of the Hebrew language to joke and ridicule their own, the Jews nevertheless avoided doing this in relation to Christmas. Although there was nothing for the Jews to especially love this holiday, which marked the appearance of the Divine in human form. The idea of the incarnation of God in the material world is absolutely alien and impossible for the Jewish consciousness. Yes, and the times in Europe were such that for a sharp word you could pay with your life. Therefore, the most obvious Christmas pun among the Jews was never noted. As you know, Christmas Eve in German "Weihnacht Weinacht" echoes well the German word Wex - "woe" or Weh sadness, akin to one of the most famous Jewish expressions oh wei!, converted by New Yorkers into "o boy!" and allowed to walk around the world. Jewish wits consistently opposed the remaking of Weihnacht into "Wei-nacht" - perhaps so that Christian informants who know Yiddish would not understand, so that neighbors would not inform that they were insulting Christianity, but perhaps because banal comparisons lying on the surface do not excite the inquisitive Jewish mind.
However, in order not to get the impression that our Jews are much more likely to ridicule everything, let's say that the Jews consider it much more important to bless deeds and things. The science of what kind of blessing it is customary to pronounce in this or that case is taught to boys from the age of three. It is very important for a devout Jew not to make a mistake, not to confuse the blessing of things and food, vegetables and fruits, the Sabbath from a weekday. Therefore, the Jews bless, like vegetables, but olives, like the fruits of trees, are fruits. Blessing in Hebrew is called "bruhe", "bracha".
So let's end with Jewish history.
One day a Jewish son brought a Christmas tree to his kosher home. The father didn't know what to do. On the one hand, this idea is non-Jewish, and on the other hand, there is a reluctance to offend a child. Well, then it is not known what kind of blessing - "bruhe" should be pronounced over the tree. The father went, as expected, to the rabbi for advice. The orthodox rabbi shook his head.
- Bruhe to the Christmas tree, huh? I will think and say. But can you tell me what Christmas is?
The rabbi decided to consult with a colleague from a conservative congregation. Still, they are conservative, like the same Jews, although they live in the modern world.
The conservative rabbi said:
- What "bruhe" on a Christmas tree? And what kind of tree and why is it for Christmas?
Both rabbis decided to consult with their Reform colleague.
- What kind of "bruhe" do you need for a Christmas tree? I will think and say. But tell me, what is "bruhe"?
What newspaper is mentioned at the beginning of the article? About the St. Petersburg Times, published in St. Petersburg, Florida. Neighborhood holidays embarrass minorities everywhere, whether in America or Russia.
Illustration by Vadim Brodsky (Stuttgart, Germany), courtesy of the editor of the Jewish newspaper "Ami" Yakov Zukerman (St. Petersburg, Russia).