Nittel night

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As Nittel Nacht ( Nittl Nacht , also Nitl Nacht ; Yiddish : ניטל נאַכט) Jewish scholars of the 17th century referred to Christmas Eve and the associated Ashkenazi traditions.

etymology

The Yiddish word "Nittl" probably comes from the Latin word for Christmas, "natalis". However, some speculations suggest that it comes from Hebrew. The word “nitleh” (the hanging man) was therefore used for Jesus .

Traditions and Customs

Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews, especially Hasidim, avoid reading and learning from the Torah or Talmud that evening. Card games or board games such as chess are usually played or all those things are practiced that would be forbidden for Jewish holidays. In some congregations, Yeshu is read from the toldot and stories are told that praise Jewish identity.

origin

The aim of the Nittl Night was to protect Jews from assault during Christian holidays. It was probably created in the course of the heavily strained relations between Jews and Christians during the Middle Ages , a time marked by pogroms . A widespread assumption is that Jews tried to avoid taking to the streets during Christmas, as Christians might encounter Jews on their way to church , not least because Jews were considered Christ murderers among Christians. Another interpretation says, is that Jews Nittl night would not trust in yeshivas to learn and therefore defected to other activities.

One Kabbalistic assumption is that learning from the Tanakh and Talmud gives rise to a certain spiritual and positive energy. On Christmas Eve, however, there is an impure and negative energy present and creating positive energy would ultimately only strengthen the “bad” energy.

The first source that mentions the avoidance of learning from the Scriptures on Christmas Eve comes from a period between 1660 and 1692 in Jair Bacharach's Mekor Chaim . The first evidence of playing board games is provided by a Jewish ordinance from 1708.

Due to the spreading influence of Hasidism , especially in the time of Baal Shem Tov , Nittel Nacht became a widespread tradition among Jews in eastern areas (Galicia, Poland, Belarus).

Superstition

Members of the Jewish faith who were later converted to Christianity, such as Johannes Pfefferkorn or Samuel Benz, reported stories that Jews liked to tell. They are about Jesus, who is up to mischief as a ghost in the latrines of Jewish households. Because of this, some Jews would not visit the latrines on Christmas Eve, for fear that they would suffer the same agony as Jesus or would be dragged into the latrines by him.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Nittel Nacht: An Inverted Christmas with Toledot Yeshu - TheTorah.com. Retrieved May 11, 2020 .
  2. ^ Shedding Light On Nittel Night. In: Mishpacha Magazine. Retrieved December 1, 2010, May 11, 2020 (American English).
  3. ↑ a b A brief history of Nittel Nacht. December 21, 2016, Retrieved May 11, 2020 (American English).
  4. ^ Isaac Landman: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. S. 224 .
  5. ↑ Benyamin Cohen: The Little-Known Jewish Holiday of Christmas Eve. Seriously. December 23, 2009, accessed May 11, 2020 .