Honorifics for the dead in Judaism
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Among thehonorifics in Judaism,there are several traditional honorifics for the dead which are used when naming and speaking of the deceased. Different honorifics might be applied depending on the particular status of the deceased. These honorifics are frequently found ongravestones,on memorial walls inside the sanctuary ofsynagogues,in speeches, and in writing such as inobituaries.
In writing, it is most common to use the name followed by an abbreviation of an honorific either in Hebrew or English. For examples, see chart.
Comparison chart
[edit]The following chart shows differenthonorificsused, along with their abbreviation inHebrewandEnglish,their translation, the masculine and feminine forms, the type of person which the honorific is applied to, and examples.
| English abbreviation |
Hebrew abbreviation |
Full phrase in Hebrew | English translation | When used | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For a man | For a woman | |||||
| Z "L |
ז״ל[1] | זכרונו לברכה zikhrono livrakha |
זכרונה לברכה zikhronah livrakha |
of blessed memory; or may his/her memory be a blessing |
a holy or a righteous person |
Israel Israeli Z "LorIsrael Israeli ז״לorRabbi Israel Israeli Z "LorRabbi Israel Israeli ז״ל |
| A "H | ע״ה[1] | עליו השלום alav ha-shalom |
עליה השלום aleha ha-shalom |
may peace be upon him/her | non-rabbinical or biblical figure |
Albert Peretz A "HorAlbert Peretz ע״הorAvraham Avinu A "HorAvraham Avinu ע "ה |
| ZT "L orZTz "L |
זצ״ל[2] | זכר צדיק לברכה zekher tzadik livrakha |
may the memory of the righteous be a blessing |
a holy or a righteous person |
Maran Ovadia Yosef ZT "LorMaran Ovadia Yosef ZTz "LorMaran Ovadia Yosef זצ״ל | |
| ZK "L | זק״ל | זכר קדוש לברכה zekher kadosh livrakha |
may the memory of the holy be a blessing | holy person, not necessarily a martyr | Judah Halevi ZK "LorJudah Halevi זק״ל | |
| ZTVK "L | זצוק״ל | זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה zekher tzaddik v'kadosh livrakha |
may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing | righteous and holy person, not necessarily a martyr | Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch ZTVK "LorRabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch זצוק״ל | |
| ZTzVKLLH "H | זצוקללה״ה | זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה לחיי העולם הבא zekher tzaddik v'kadosh livrakha, l'chayei ha'olam ha-ba |
may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing for the life of theworld to come |
outstandingly holy person | Rabbenu Tzadok Hacohen (may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing for the life of the world to come)orRabbenu Tzadok Hacohen זצוקללה״ה | |
| ZY "A | זי "ע | זכותו יגן עלינו zechuto yagen aleinu |
may his merit shield us | outstandingly holy person | Rabbi Menachem Mendel ShneersohnZY "AorRabbi Menachem Mendel Shneersohn זי "ע | |
| HY "D | הי״ד | השם יקום דמו Hashemyikkom damo |
השם יקום דמה Hashem yikkom dama |
MayHashemavenge his / her blood | Martyred Jews or Jews killed byantisemites | Hana "Hanička" Bradyová HY "DorHana "Hanička" Bradyová הי״ד |
General honorifics
[edit]Some honorifics may be used for any individual. These honorifics are generally not used for rabbis or other special persons, since the specific honorifics for those people are used instead, as a sign of honor and respect. See below.
May he rest in peace
[edit]The single most common funerary salutation in Jewish inscriptions from Rome in the 3rd and 4th centuries is ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἡ κοιμήσις αὐτοῦ/αὐτῆς/σοῦMay he/she/you rest in peace.Joseph S. Park argues that it is distinctively Jewish, relating to the Jewish concept of death-as-sleep, although it also appears in a period Christian inscription.[3]It is equivalent to Hebrew י/תנוח בשלום and משכבו בשלום (cf. Is. 57:2), found on 3-6th century Jewish tombstones inPalestine.[4][5]Park argues that שלום by itself is also intended as the equivalent, but that שלום על משכבו means insteadMay his tomb be left in peace.[3]Also popular was משכבו בכבודMay he rest in gloryand the equivalent מנוחתו כבוד (Is. 11:10), shortened to מו "כ, was particularly common in theRishonic period.TheTzidduq hadDinconcludes ינוח נפשו בשלום / ישכב בשלום וישן בשלום / עד יבא מנחם משמיע שלום,May he rest in peace / lie in peace and sleep in peace / until the Comforter announces peace.[6][7]
Of blessed memory
[edit]The most common honorific isof blessed memory[8]ormay his/her memory be a blessing.[9]The Hebrew transliteration iszikhrono livrakha(m.) /zikhronah livrakha(f.) (Hebrew:זיכרונה לברכה (f.) /זיכרונו לברכה (m.)). It is often abbreviated in English both asOBMand asZ "L.The Hebrew abbreviation isז״ל.
In the past, it was common to use this expression for living people as well.[10]In the Babylonian Talmud, it is mentioned that a person should say this expression about his dead father, in addition to the phrase "[May] I be the atonement of his resting-place."[11]
Peace be upon him/her
[edit]An alternative honorific isPeace be upon him/her.The Hebrew version isalav ha-shalom(m.) /aleha ha-shalom(f.) (Hebrew:עליו השלום (m.) /עליה השלום (f.)). It is abbreviated in English asA "H.The Hebrew abbreviation isע״ה.
This phrase is the same as theIslamichonorificpeace be upon him(which is used for allprophets of Islam). However, unlike in Islamic usage, the English abbreviationPBUHis not commonly used for the Jewish honorific.
The above two may be used interchangeably; howeverof blessed memoryis the most common.
The term עליו השלום did not appear in Hebrew literature until the earlyRishonic period,a century after its introduction inJudeo-Arabic.According to the theory ofMichael Broyde,after the Arab conquest the Arabic phraseعَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ( "peace be upon him" ) was translated to Hebrewעליו השלום and was used for any deceased person, a usage which spread to the Jews of Christian Europe beginning in the 12th century. The phrase is more common in Islamic literature as an honorific for saints, and over time in Hebrew it came to predominate overעבד השם (the classical Hebrew honorific for biblical figures), and by 1600 usage ofעבד השם had disappeared, leavingעליו השלום (or its feminine/plural forms) as the only expansion ofע "ה.[12]
May HaShem avenge his/her blood
[edit]The honorificMay HaShem avenge his/her bloodis generally used for an individual who are considered to have been murdered through acts of anti-Semitism such as pogroms, genocide, orterrorist attacks.The term is also applied to any innocent Jew killed, whether for anti-Semitic reasons or others; for example,Shira Banki,a teenager murdered in the 2015Jerusalem Pride Parade,is referred to as Shira Banki HY "D by the Israeli LGBTQ community.[13]The term has also been used for JewishIDFsoldiers who are killed in battle with the enemy and was approved by the IDF in 2024 to appear on military headstones at the request of the family.[14]The Hebrew phrase isHaShem yikom damo(m.) /HaShem yikom dama(f.) /HaShem yikom damam(pl.) (Hebrew:השם יקום דמו (m.) /השם יקום דמה (f.) /השם יקום דמם (pl.)). The English abbreviation isHY "D,the Hebrew oneהי״ד.
Other
[edit]Other expressions used to add to the names of people who died: "the deceased", "rest of Eden", "rest in peace". It is customary to sign the tombstones with the initials תַּנְצְבָ "ה (תְּהִי נִשְׁמָתוֹ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים (according to the language of the verse:[15]and the soul was a pure soul in the chorus of life).
Holy and the righteous
[edit]The abbreviation "זי״ע/zy "a"stands for"zekhuto yagen `aleinu/May his merit shield us ", and often follows the mention of meritorious righteous ones. A variant is"זיע״א/zya "a"which adds" Amen "at the end. This expression stems from the belief that a righteous person who passes to the next world can serve as an advocate before God for his remaining community. Other acronyms of this type areנבג "מ(נשמתו בגנזי מרומים;his soul in the heavenly vineyards) andנלב "ע(נפטר לבית עולמו;died to his world).
Memory of the righteous
[edit]The honorific "May the memory of the righteous be a blessing"is used after the names of holyrabbisand otherholypeople, and "the name of the wicked shall perish" on a wicked person.[2]both fromProverbs 10:7.
In Hebrew transliteration: "zekher tzadik livrakha"and in Hebrew:"זכר צדיק לברכה ". The English abbreviation commonly used is"ZT "L"and in Hebrew,"זצ״ל "is used. It is pronounced in reading as"zatzal".It may be also written as"ZTz "L".
It is used primarily in reference to rabbis who have been deceased in recent memory. Thus, one is likely to write "RabbiMoshe FeinsteinZT "L" (d. 1986) but far less likely to write "RashiZT "L" (d. 1105). This expression is synonymous with Z "L (see above) in that Z" L inherently implies the person was righteous, but, in modernHasidiccommunities, wheretzadikhas acquired a different meaning, ZT "L may be used to distinguish the Tzadik in that modern sense.
In the course of time, additional versions of the above expressions were created, for example: "זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה ";" may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing "(ZTVK" L;זצוק״ל), or "זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה לחיי העולם הבא ";" may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing for the life of the world to come "(זצוקללה״ה).
Memory of the wicked
[edit]While the above-mentioned positive honorifics are added to the names of beloved people, the names of those considered to be particularlywicked(i.e. evil, despised, etc.) are sometimes embellished with the phrase "Yimakh shemo"ימח שמו," May his name be blotted out ". Another phrase is" Shem reshaim yirkav "שם רשעים ירקב," the name of the wicked will rot ".[16]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abBirnbaum, Philip (1964).Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts.New York: Hebrew Publishing Company. pp. 564–565.ISBN0-88482-930-8.
- ^ab"Tractate Yoma 38a".Yoma.RetrievedJuly 7,2019.
- ^abPark, Joseph S. (2000).Conceptions Of Afterlife In Jewish Inscriptions Complete.Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe. Vol. 121. Mohr Siebeck. p. 98.
- ^Wilfand, Yael (2009)."Aramaic Tombstones from Zoar and Jewish Conceptions of the Afterlife".Journal for the Study of Judaism.40(4): 510–539.ISSN0047-2212.
- ^Uro, Risto Ilmari; Flesher, Paul V. M. (2022-11-07).Ancient Synagogues, Volume 2.BRILL.ISBN978-90-04-53236-6.
- ^Reif, Stefan C.; Lehnardt, Andreas; Bar-Levav, Avriel (2014-08-27).Death in Jewish Life: Burial and Mourning Customs Among Jews of Europe and Nearby Communities.Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.ISBN978-3-11-037748-4.
- ^"צידוק הדין - אמיתי בן שפטיה | מפעל המילון ההיסטורי".maagarim.hebrew-academy.org.il.Retrieved2024-07-17.
- ^Ben-Yehuda, Ehud; Weinstein, David, eds. (1961).Ben-Yehuda's Pocket English-Hebrew Hebrew-English Dictionary.New York: Pocket Books. pp. xx–xxvi.ISBN0-671-47211-9.
- ^Burack, Emily (2020-09-21)."Why Jews Say 'May Her Memory Be a Blessing/Revolution' When Someone Has Died".Hey Alma.Retrieved2022-10-01.
- ^Dandrowitz, Yisrael. "Zichrono Livrocho on a Living Man".Nezer HaTorah, Av 5765(in Hebrew). Vol. 11.HebrewBooks.pp. 157–168.
- ^In tractateKiddushin,31:b
- ^""Is the Epitaph Acronym ע״ה an Abbreviation of עליו השלום or עבד השם?" Michael J. Broyde Hakirah #3 pg. 17 "(PDF).
- ^"שיגרת חיינו הרדופים".israelhayom.co.il(in Hebrew).Retrieved25 August2023.
- ^"Religious phrases okayed on army headstones, including appeal for divine vengeance".Times of Israel.Retrieved18 July2024.
- ^The Book of Samuel I, chapter 25, verse 29.
- ^This phrase refers to Proverbs 10:7
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