‖ cherem
(ˈhɛrɛm)
Also herem.
[Heb. ḥērem, f. ḥāram to devote, put under a curse.]
Excommunication from the Synagogue.
| 1829 H. H. Milman Hist. Jews III. 145 For more heinous offences, and against contumacious delinquents, the more terrific Cherem, or the still more fatal Shammata, the excommunication, was proclaimed. 1903 Jewish Encycl. V. 286/2 If..the excommunicate showed no sign of penitence or remorse, the niddui might be renewed.., and finally the ‘herem’, the most rigorous form of excommunication, might be pronounced. 1925 W. Ewing J. E. H. Thomson 158 For some comparatively trivial cause a cherem, or ban, would fall like a bolt from the blue. 1967 Encycl. Jewish Relig. 182 The ḥerem completely ostracizes the individual involved from all contact with his fellow Jews. |