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[German Version] (Heb. שְׁבָחִים, from שֶׁבַ, “praise”). The term shevachim applies to both praise of God formulated privately in spontaneous individual prayer and to individual expressions of praise. A familiar example is the string of 15 terms for the praise of God at the end of the Pesuqe de-Simra ( yishtabbach), meant to be recited in a single breath. Because shevachim are pure praise of God, not associated with petitions or thanksgiving, they are subject to fewer formal rules. The otherwise mandatory repetition of the benediction formula barukh can ¶ be reduced to a single occur…

[German Version] I. Old Testament In the preexilic period, Sabbath (שַׁבָּת/ šabbāt) meant the day of the full moon; from the Exile on, it denoted a weekly day of rest. The origins of this day of rest go back to the early days of Exile. The earliest laws regarding the preexilic day of rest appear in the Book of the Covenant (Exod 23:10) and the cultic code in Exod 34:18–23, 25f. (v. 21) (Law and legislation: III). In the Book of the Covenant, the commandment to ¶ observe a day of rest is part of the privilege law of YHWH that deals with setting apart the firstfruits and firstborn (Exod 22:28f.*), along with a fallow year (Exod 23:10f.) every seventh year (Sabbatical year) and the seventh day as a day of rest. The 6/7 rhythm of the sabbatical year and the day of rest derives from the analogous structure of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Feasts and festivals: II) (Otto, “šaebaʿ,” 1016–1019). Forgoing the use of a field every seventh year and human and anim…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies 1. The terms The terms rite and ritual are often used synonymously, both in daily speech and in the specialized language of religious studies, leading to a lack of clarity. “Rite” is etymologically related to Sanskrit ṛta, “right, order, truth, custom,” and may thus be regarded…

[German Version] (Heb. סידור, from סֵדֶר/ sēder, “order”), since the Gaonic period (Gaon) the name of the Jewish prayer books (III). Until the modern period, the terms Siddur and Makhzor were not clearly distinguished; today the Siddur is the Jewish prayer book for daily prayers and Sabbath worship. As siddur ha-shalem it also includes alternative forms of pra…