Sanhedrin, Lecha Dodi, and Seasonal Hours: 7 Jewish Concepts You May Not Know

1. El Malei Rachamim

The 'El Malei Rachamim' prayer is traditionally recited in memory of a deceased person. Originally, the 'El Malei Rachamim' prayer was recited only in Ashkenazi communities, but today its use is more widespread. Currently, this prayer is recited on many occasions, including funerals, cemetery visits, anniversaries of death, as well as national remembrance days such as Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers.

2. Sanhedrin

The Sanhedrin was a court composed of seventy-one judges who led the Jewish people spiritually and politically. The Sanhedrin was headed by the nasi (president), who bore overall responsibility for the leadership of the Jewish people.

3. Lecha Dodi

Lecha Dodi is a liturgical poem composed by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, a rabbi and kabbalist who lived in Safed in the 16th century. The poem primarily deals with Shabbat, the redemption of Israel, and the building of the Temple, and all Jewish communities sing it as part of the 'Kabbalat Shabbat' service recited at the outset of Shabbat. The main refrain of Lecha Dodi is: "Come my beloved to meet the bride, let us welcome the Shabbat," from which the prayer gets its name. Beyond the refrain, Lecha Dodi has nine stanzas, and the first letters of the first eight stanzas spell the name of the poem's author mentioned above – Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz.

4. Shiva

Shiva is a halachic concept that describes the seven-day period following a person's death, which are days of mourning the deceased. The people who observe the laws of mourning during these seven days are "sitting shiva," meaning they mourn in a special way for seven days for the person who passed away. The people who "sit shiva" are the deceased's "seven relatives" – spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, and sister.

During the days of shiva, mourners are prohibited from many routine activities that might bring pleasure and comfort. As such, mourners are forbidden to cut their hair, shower, iron and wear new and/or pressed clothes, engage in marital relations, greet people with "shalom," study Torah, anoint the body with oil and so forth, work, entertain, do joyful things, and leave the house where they are "sitting shiva." In addition to all this, during shiva mourners customarily sit on the floor or on low chairs or benches, and sleep on a mattress placed directly on the floor.

5. Halachic Hours

In Jewish law, “halachic hours” are determined by the varying daylight and nighttime hours on any given day and are used to establish certain important halachic parameters.

Though days are typically divided into 24 hours, 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night, with each hour lasting exactly 60 minutes, Jewish law has a different and special division in which daylight hours are divided into 12 equal parts, (and nighttime hours are also divided into 12 equal parts) and the resulting calculation is the “halachic hour” which varies in length based on the time of the year.

6. Comforting Mourners

The Torah commands us to comfort mourners in order to strengthen people who are grieving the death of someone close to them. Primarily, the mitzvah to comfort mourners applies to strengthening and comforting the "seven relatives" of the deceased: father, mother, spouse, son, daughter, brother, and sister.

7. Al Hanissim

'Al Hanissim' is a prayer segment added to the Shemoneh Esrei prayer and Grace After Meals during Chanukah and Purim. The essence of this prayer is to thank Hashem for the miracles He performed for the Jewish people during these two wondrous holidays.

The Al Hanissim prayer is ancient, and we first encounter the obligation to recite it in the Tosefta, which is essentially a collection of traditions formulated in the days of the Tannaim (the Sages of the Mishnaic period). However, the first to mention this prayer by its name 'Al Hanissim' was Rav Achai who lived in Babylon shortly after the Talmud was completed, and the text of Al Hanissim as we know it today was first found in the 'Seder of Rav Amram Gaon.'