Takkanah
A takkanah (plural takkanot) is a major legislative enactment within "halakha" (Jewish law), the normative system of Judaism's laws. A "takkanah" is an enactment which revises an ordinance that no longer satisfies the requirements of the times or circumstances, or which, being deduced from a biblical passage, may be regarded as new. It is, therefore, the antithesis of the "gezerah". The term is applied also to the institution provided for in the enactment. "Takkanot" were enacted even in the time of the Second Temple, those of unknown origin being ascribed to earlier leaders, and they have been promulgated  at all subsequent periods of Jewish history. Introduction. Classical Jewish law granted rabbinic sages wide legislative powers. There are two powerful legal tools within the halakhic system: However, the general term "takkanah" is used to refer to either "gezeirot" or "takkanot". "Takkanot", in general, do not affect or restrict observance of Torah "mitzvot". However, the Talmud states that in exceptional cases, the Jewish sages had the authority make a "gezeirah" even if it would "uproot a matter from the Torah". In Talmudic and classical halakhic literature, this authority refers to the authority to prohibit some things that would otherwise be  biblically sanctioned ("shev v'al ta'aseh"). Rabbis may rule that a Torah mitzvah should not be performed, e.g. blowing the "shofar" on Shabbat, or blessing the "lulav and etrog" on Shabbat. These "gezeirot" are executed out of fear that some might otherwise carry the mentioned items between home and the synagogue, thus inadvertently violating a Sabbath "melakha", a greater sin than neglecting the banned mitzvah. Another rare and limited form of "takkanah" involved overriding Torah prohibitions. In some cases, the sages allowed the temporary violation of a prohibition in order to maintain the Jewish system as a whole. This was part  of the basis for Esther's relationship with Ahasuerus. Biblical "takkanot". Ascribed to Moses: To Joshua: To Boaz, the ancestor of David: To King David: To King Solomon : To the early prophets: To the Prophets before the destruction of Solomon's Temple: To the Prophets after the destruction of the Temple: To Ezra : Second Temple period (excluding biblical figures). To the men of the Great Assembly : Ascribed to John Hyrcanus (135-106 BC): By the court of the Hasmoneans: By the court of the priests: By Shimon ben Shetach : By Hillel the Elder (75 BC - 5 AD): By Gamaliel|Gamaliel I  (mid-1st century): Tannaitic period. Most of the ordinances of Yohanan ben Zakkai were promulgated before the time of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem . These include: Ascribed to Gamaliel II and the court of Yavne : Ascribed to the court of Yavne: After R. Gamaliel's death the Sanhedrin of Yavne seems to have gone to Usha (city)|Usha for reasons which are no longer known, and the grounds of its takkanot are equally obscure. In view of their ethical import, however, these enactments soon became binding. They were as follows: These ordinances were enacted by the rabbis of the second  generation of tannaim , Rabbi Ishmael being especially mentioned. An ordinance is also extant which dates from the time called the period of religious persecution ("shemad"). When Hadrian issued his decree forbidding the Jews to observe their religion, the teachers, including R. Akiba, R. Tarfon, and R. Jose the Galilean, met in council and agreed that during the time of the persecution the Law might be transgressed in all respects, except as regarded the commands relating to idolatry, chastity, and morality, although this regulation was observed only superficially and only when necessary in order to deceive the Roman spies. Three ordinances  have been preserved which were promulgated by R. Jose ben Halafta (third generation of tannaim): To R. Judah HaNasi : By topic. Regarding women. Ordinances from the period of the Mishnah and relating to women are as follows: For the "preservation of the order of the world". The more the Jews came in contact with the Romans and the Persians, the more they were obliged to mitigate the black letter law , and to introduce ordinances of the class characterized as necessary "for the preservation of the order of the world," or "for the sake of peace." The regulations of this type , like those already mentioned, date from the mishnaic period, and were promulgated for the sake of morality. Business "takkano"t. Ordinances relating to legal proceedings were highly important so long as the Jews retained their own judicial system in the Diaspora. They are a form of business ethics . These include: Post-Mishnaic ordinances. The making of new ordinances did not end with the completion of the Mishnah : enactments were promulgated also in the Amoraim|Amoraic , Saboraim|Saboraic , and Geonic periods of Jewish law, although their exact dates are no longer known. These include: In modern times. The Conservative Judaism|Conservative Movement also allows its  leaders to issue takkanot today. Examples of takkanot issued by the Conservative Movement in modern times include allowing women to count in a minyan and to serve as Testimony in Jewish law|witnesses to a Beit Din , as well as removing restrictions on Kohen marriage. The Israeli Chief Rabbinate also adopted many such ordinances, though more moderate in character, among them various statutes regarding marriage and divorce. The rabbis of Morocco held several conferences in the 1940s that issued statutes on various affairs. References. Its bibliography: See also. Category:Hebrew words and phrases Category:Jewish law