Biblical and Rabbinic Halakha.wmv
Channel: paulgem123
Date: 20/07/2011

Mitzvot D'Rabbanan: Laws Instituted by the Rabbis

In addition to the laws that come directly from Torah (d'oraita), halakhah includes laws that were enacted by the rabbis (d'rabbanan). These rabbinic laws are still referred to as mitzvot (commandments), even though they are not part of the original 613 mitzvot d'oraita. Mitzvot d'rabbanan are considered to be as binding as Torah laws, but there are differences in the way we apply laws that are d'oraita and laws that are d'rabbanan (see below).

Mitzvot d'rabbanan are commonly divided into three categories: gezeirah, takkanah and minhag.

A gezeirah is a law instituted by the rabbis to prevent people from accidentally violating a Torah mitzvah. We commonly speak of a gezeirah as a "fence" around the Torah. For example, the Torah commands us not to work on Shabbat, but a gezeirah commands us not to even handle an implement that you would use to perform prohibited work (such as a pencil, money, a hammer), because someone holding the implement might forget that it was Shabbat and perform prohibited work. The word is derived from the root Gimel-Zayin-Reish, meaning to cut off or to separate.

A takkanah is a rule unrelated to biblical laws that was created by the rabbis for the public welfare. For example, the practice of public Torah readings every Monday and Thursday is a takkanah instituted by Ezra. The "mitzvah" to light candles on Chanukkah, a post-biblical holiday, is also a takkanah. The word is derived from the Hebrew root Tav-Qof-Nun, meaning to fix, to remedy or to repair. It is the same root as in "tikkun olam," repairing the world, or making the world a better place, an important concept in all branches of Judaism.

Some takkanot vary from community to community or from region to region. For example, around the year 1000 C.E., a Rabbeinu Gershom Me'or Ha-Golah instituted a takkanah prohibiting polygyny (multiple wives), a practice clearly permitted by the Torah and the Talmud. This takkanah was accepted by Ashkenazic Jews, who lived in Christian countries where polygyny was not permitted, but was not accepted by Sephardic Jews, who lived in Islamic countries where men were permitted up to four wives.

Minhag: Customs

Minhag is treated as a category of mitzvot d'rabbanan (from the rabbis), mostly because it is clearly not d'oraita (from the Torah), but minhag is generally not the sort of rule that is created by reasoned decision-making. A minhag is a custom that developed for worthy religious reasons and has continued long enough to become a binding religious practice. For example, the second, extra day of holidays was originally instituted as a gezeirah, so that people outside of Israel, not certain of the day of a holiday, would not accidentally violate the holiday's mitzvot. After the mathematical calendar was instituted and there was no doubt about the days, the added second day was not necessary. The rabbis considered ending the practice at that time, but decided to continue it as a minhag: the practice of observing an extra day had developed for worthy religious reasons, and had become customary.

It is important to note that these "customs" are a binding part of halakhah, just like a mitzvah, a takkanah or a gezeirah.

The word "minhag" is also used in a looser sense, to indicate a community or an individual's customary way of doing some religious thing. For example, it may be the minhag in one synagogue to stand while reciting a certain prayer, while in another synagogue it is the minhag to sit during that prayer. It may become an individual's minhag to sit in a certain location in synagogue, or to walk to synagogue in a certain way, and under appropriate circumstances these too may become minhag. Even in this looser sense, these customs can become binding on the individual, it is generally recommended that a person follow his own personal or community minhag as much as possible, even when visiting another community, unless that minhag would cause the other community discomfort or embarrassment..