Levites
לויים

Top row (left to right) Moses • Aaron • Samuel • Yitzhaq ben Amram • Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz
Total population
Around 500–600 thousand worldwide[a]
Regions with significant populations
Israel	240,000
United States	200,000
France	16,000
Canada	12,000
Languages
Vernacular: Hebrew, English Historical: Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic
Religion
Judaism, Samaritanism
Related ethnic groups
Jews, Samaritans
Levites are the descendants of the Tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes. In addition to Levites, the Kohens(priests) are also descended from Levi. Both are integrated in Jewish and Samaritan communities, but keep a distinct status.

In Jewish tradition, a Levite (/ˈliːvaɪt/, Hebrew: לֵוִי, Modern Levi Tiberian Lēwî ; "Attached") is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan (Joshua 13:33), the Sons of Levi were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel Himself is their inheritance" (Deuteronomy 18:2).^[1][2] The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites and had political responsibilities as well. In return, the landed tribes were expected to give tithe to the Kohanim, particularly the tithe known as the Maaser Rishon. The Kohanim were the priests, they performed the work in the Temple. The Levites who were not Kohanim played music in the Temple or served as guards.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 In contemporary Jewish practice
  • 1.1 Relationship with Kohanim
  • 1.2 Bat Levi
  • 1.3 The Levites and the Holocaust
• 2 Levite population
  • 2.1 Levite Y-chromosome studies
  • 2.2 Lineage
  • 2.3 Notable descendants
    • 2.3.1 In tradition
    • 2.3.2 Levite surnames
    • 2.3.3 Modern Levites
• 3 See also
• 4 Footnotes
• 5 References
• 6 Bibliography
• 7 External links

In contemporary Jewish practice[edit]

Today, Levites in Orthodox Judaism continue to have additional rights and obligations compared to lay people, although these responsibilities have diminished with the destruction of the Temple. For instance, Kohanim are eligible to be called to the Torah first, followed by the Levites. Levites also provide assistance to the Kohanim, particularly washing their hands, before the Kohanim recite the Priestly Blessing. They also do not participate in the Pidyon HaBen (redemption of the firstborn) ceremony, because they are traditionally pledged to Divine service. Conservative Judaism recognizes Levites as having special status, but not all Conservative congregations call Kohanim and Levites to the first and second reading of the Torah, and many no longer perform rituals such as the Priestly Blessing and Pidyon HaBen in which Kohanim and Levites have a special role. Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism do not observe the distinctions between Kohanim, Levites, and other Jews.

Orthodox Judaism believes in the eventual rebuilding of a Temple in Jerusalem and a resumption of the Levitical role. There is a small number of schools, primarily inIsrael, to train priests and Levites in their respective roles. Conservative Judaism believes in a restoration of the Temple as a house of worship and in some special role for Levites, although not the ancient sacrificial system as previously practiced.

Relationship with Kohanim[edit]

Main articles: Kohen and Priesthood (Ancient Israel)

The Kohanim are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron of the Levi tribe.

The noun kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, both Israelite and non-Israelite, such as the Israelite nation as a whole, as well as the priests (Hebrew kohanim) of Baal. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, Kohanim performed the daily and holiday (Yom Tov) duties of sacrificial offerings.

Today kohanim retain a lesser though somewhat distinct status within Judaism, and are bound by additional restrictions according to Orthodox Judaism. During thePriestly Blessing, the Levites traditionally wash the hands of the Kohanim prior to the blessing of the House of Israel.^[3]

Bat Levi[edit]

A Bat Levi (daughter of a Levite) is no longer recognized by many rishonim as having lineal sanctity in both Orthodox and Conservative Judaism,^[4] stemming from her traditional eligibility to receive proceeds of the Levitical tithe (Maaser Rishon). In both Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism, children of a Bat Levi, regardless of her marital status or husband's tribe, retain the traditional exemption for their children from the requirement of being redeemed through the Pidyon HaBen. Contrary to popular belief, this is not due to any sort of lineal sanctity,^[5] but rather, it is a mitzvah similar to all other mitzvahs.

Conservative Judaism permits a Bat Levi to perform essentially all the rituals a male Levi would perform, including being called to the Torah for the Levite aliyah in those Conservative synagogues which have both retained traditional tribal roles and modified traditional gender roles.^[6] In Israel, Conservative/Masorti Judaism has not extended Torah honors to either a bat Kohen or a bat Levi (see Robert A. (Rafael) Harris, Rabbinical Assembly of Israel's Law Committee Teshuvah: “The First Two Aliyot for a Bat Kohen and a Bat Levi.” Pages 31–33 in Responsa of the Va’ad Halacha of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel 5748–5749 (1989). Volume 3. Jerusalem: The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel and the Masorti Movement (Hebrew; English Summary, vii–viii). http://www.responsafortoday.com/vol3/3.pdf

The Levites and the Holocaust[edit]

Main article: Holocaust theology

In 1938, with the outbreak of violence that would come to be known as Kristallnacht, American Orthodox rabbi Menachem HaKohen Risikoff wrote about the central role he saw for Priests and Levites in terms of Jewish and world responses, in worship, liturgy, and teshuva, repentance. In הכהנים והלוים HaKohanim vHaLeviim(1940), The Priests and the Levites, he stressed that members of these groups exist in the realm between history (below) and redemption (above), and must act in a unique way to help move others to prayer and action, and help bring an end to suffering. He wrote, "Today, we also are living through a time of flood, Not of water, but of a bright fire, which burns and turns Jewish life into ruin. We are now drowning in a flood of blood...Through the Kohanim and Levi'im help will come to all Israel."^[7]

Levite population[edit]

Levite Y-chromosome studies[edit]

The Shulchan Aruch, published in 1565, is the authoritative legal code for Orthodox Jews

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading 20th-century American Orthodox authority.

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Orthodox Judaism is the approach to religious Judaism which adheres to the interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Tanaimand Amoraim and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as theGaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. Orthodox Judaism generally includes Modern Orthodox Judaism and ultra orthodox or Haredi Judaism, but complete within is a wide range of philosophies. Orthodox Judaism is a modern self-conscious identification that, for some, distinguishes it from traditional premodern Judaism, although it was the mainstream expression of Judaism prior to the 19th century.^[1]

As of 2001, Orthodox Jews and Jews affiliated with an Orthodox synagogue accounted for approximately 50% of British Jews (150,000), 25% of Israeli Jews (1,500,000) and 13% ofAmerican Jews (529,000).^[2] (Among those affiliated to a synagogue body, Orthodox Jews represent 70% of British Jewry^[3] and 27% of American Jewry).^[2]

The majority of Jews killed during the Holocaust were religiously Orthodox.^[4] It is estimated that they numbered between 50-70% of those who perished.^[5]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Terminology
• 2 History
  • 2.1 Roots of Orthodox Judaism
  • 2.2 Development of Orthodox religious practice
  • 2.3 Growth of Orthodox affiliation
• 3 Streams of Orthodoxy
  • 3.1 Modern Orthodoxy
  • 3.2 Haredi Judaism
  • 3.3 Hassidic Judaism
  • 3.4 In practice
• 4 Beliefs
• 5 In the United States
• 6 Movements, organisations and groups
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links

Terminology[edit]

Orthodoxy is not a single movement or school of thought. There is no single rabbinical body to which all rabbis are expected to belong, or any one organisation representing member congregations. In the United States, there are numerous Jewish Orthodox organizations, such as Agudath Israel, the Orthodox Union and the National Council of Young Israel; none of which can claim to represent a majority of all Orthodox congregations.

In the 20th century, a segment of the Orthodox population (notably as represented by theWorld Agudath Israel movement formally established in 1912) disagreed with Modern Orthodoxy and took a stricter approach. Such rabbis viewed innovations and modifications within Jewish law and customs with extreme care and caution. Some observers and scholars refer to this form of Judaism as "Haredi Judaism", or "Ultra-Orthodox Judaism". The latter term is controversial, and some consider the label "ultra-Orthodox" pejorative.

Several media entities refrain from using the term “ultra Orthodox”, including the Religion Newswriters Association; JTA, the global Jewish news service; and the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper, according the New Jersey Press Association.^[6] New Jersey attorney Stephen E. Schwartz, Esq., convinced the Star-Ledger to become the first mainstream newspaper to drop the term.^[6] Several local Jewish papers, including Jewish Week in New York and Jewish Exponent inPhiladelphia have also dropped use of the term. According to Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer, spiritual leader of Temple Israel Community Center in Cliffside Park and former executive editor of Jewish Week, this leaves “Orthodox” as “an umbrella term that designates a very widely disparate group of people very loosely tied together by some core beliefs.”^[6]

History[edit]

Roots of Orthodox Judaism[edit]

The roots of Orthodox Judaism can be traced to the late 18th or early 19th century, as a response to the Age of Enlightenment, Jewish Emancipation and Haskalah, whereby elements within German Jewry sought to reform Jewish belief and practice in the early 19th century. They sought to modernise education in light of contemporary scholarship, they rejected claims of absolute divine authorship of the Torah, declaring only those biblical laws concerning 'ethics' to be binding, and stated that the rest of halakha (Jewish law) need not be viewed as normative for Jews in wider society. (see Reform Judaism).

Tombstone of Jacob Emden inAltona

Signature of Jacob Emden

Jacob Emden. also known as Ya'avetz (June 4, 1697, Altona – April 19, 1776, Altona), was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement. He was acclaimed in all circles for his extensive knowledge, thus Moses Mendelssohn, founder of theJewish Enlightenment movement, wrote to him as "your disciple, who thirsts for your words."^[1] Although Emden did not approve of the Hasidic movement which evolved during his lifetime, his books are highly regarded amongst the Hasidim.^[1] Thirty-one works were published during his lifetime, ten posthumously while others remain in manuscript.^[1]

Emden was the son of the Chacham Tzvi, and a descendant of Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm. He lived most his life in Altona (now a part of Hamburg, Germany), where he held no official rabbinic position and earned a living by printing books.^[2] His son was Meshullam Solomon, rabbi of the Hamboro' Synagogue in London who claimed authority as Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1765 to 1780.^[3]

Biography[edit]

Until seventeen, Emden studied Talmud under his father Tzvi Ashkenazi, a foremost rabbinic authority, first at Altona, then at Amsterdam (1710–1714). In 1715 Emden married Rachel, daughter of Mordecai ben Naphtali Kohen, rabbi of Ungarisch-Brod, Moravia, and continued his studies in his father-in-law's yeshivah.^[4] Emden became well versed in all branches of Talmudic literature; later he studiedphilosophy, kabbalah, and grammar, and made an effort to acquire the Latin and Dutch languages, in which, however, he was seriously hindered by his belief that a Jew should occupy himself with secularsciences only during the hour of twilight.^[4] He was opposed to philosophy and maintained that the views contained in The Guide for the Perplexed could not have been authored by Maimonides, but rather by an unknown heretic.^[2]

Emden spent three years at Ungarisch-Brod, where he held the office of private lecturer in Talmud. Later he became a dealer in jewelry and other articles, an occupation which compelled him to travel.^[4] He generally declined to accept the office of rabbi, though in 1728 he was induced to accept the rabbinate of Emden, from which place he took his name.^[4]

In 1733 Emden returned to Altona, where he obtained the permission of the Jewish community to possess a private synagogue. Emden was at first on friendly terms with Moses Hagis, the head of thePortuguese-Jewish community at Altona, who was afterward turned against Emden by some calumny. His relations with Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen, the chief rabbi of the German community, were strained from the very beginning. Emden seems to have considered every successor of his father as an intruder.^[4]

A few years later Emden obtained from the King of Denmark the privilege of establishing at Altona a printing-press. He was soon attacked for his publication of the siddur (prayer book) Ammudei Shamayim, being accused of having dealt arbitrarily with the text. His opponents did not cease denouncing him even after he had obtained for his work the approbation of the chief rabbi of the German communities.^[4]

Sabbatean controversy[edit]

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Emden accused Jonathan Eybeschütz of being a secret Sabbatean. The controversy lasted several years, continuing even after Eybeschütz's death. Emden's assertion of Eybeschütz's heresy was chiefly based on the interpretation of some amulets prepared by Eybeschütz, in which Emden saw Sabbatean allusions. Hostilities began before Eybeschütz left Prague, and in 1751, when Eybeschütz was named chief rabbi of the three communities of Altona, Hamburg, andWandsbek, the controversy reached the stage of intense and bitter antagonism. Emden maintained that he was at first prevented by threats from publishing anything against Eybeschütz. He solemnly declared in his synagogue the writer of the amulets to be a Sabbatean heretic and deserving of excommunication. InMegillat Sefer, he even accuses Eybeschütz of having an incestuous relationship with his own daughter, and of fathering a child with her.

The majority of the community, including R. Aryeh Leib Halevi-Epstein of Konigsberg, favored Eybeschütz; thus the council condemned Emden as a slanderer. People were ordered, under pain of excommunication, not to attend Emden's synagogue, and he himself was forbidden to issue anything from his press. As Emden still continued his philippics against Eybeschütz, he was ordered by the council of the three communities to leave Altona. This he refused to do, relying on the strength of the king's charter, and he was, as he maintained, relentlessly persecuted. His life seeming to be in actual danger, in May 1751 he left the town and took refuge in Amsterdam, where he had many friends and where he joined the household of his brother-in-law, Aryeh Leib ben Saul, rabbi of the Ashkenaziccommunity.

Emden's cause was subsequently taken up by the court of Frederick V of Denmark, and on June 3, 1752, a judgment was given in favor of Emden, severely censuring the council of the three communities and condemning them to a fine of one hundred thalers. Emden then returned to Altona and took possession of his synagogue and printing-establishment, though he was forbidden to continue his agitation against Eybeschütz. The latter's partisans, however, did not desist from their warfare against Emden. They accused him before the authorities of continuing to publish denunciations against his opponent. One Friday evening (July 8, 1755) his house was broken into and his papers seized and turned over to the "Ober-Präsident," Von Kwalen. Six months later Von Kwalen appointed a commission of three scholars, who, after a close examination, found nothing, which could incriminate Emden.

The truth or falsity of his denunciations against Eybeschütz cannot be proved; Gershom Scholem wrote much on this subject, and his student Perlmutter devoted a book to proving it. According to historian David Sorkin, Eybeschütz was probably a Sabbatean,^[5] and Eybeschütz's son openly declared himself to be a Sabbatean after his father's death.