A minyan (Hebrew: plural minyanim) is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) male Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may be (and often is) held elsewhere. It is also used as a collective noun, as in "do we have a minyan?" Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... When a Jewish child reaches the age of maturity (12 years and one day for girls, 13 years and one day for boys) that child becomes responsible for him/herself under Jewish law; at this point a boy is said to become Bar Mitzvah (בר מצווה, son of the commandment... Maria Magdalene in prayer. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... Collective nouns are subject-specific words used to define a grouping of people, animals, objects or concepts. ...

A single minyan may be one of several simultaneous prayer services within a synagogue. One synagogue (or any building) can have two or more minyanim meeting at the same time; for example, one Ashkenazi minyan and one Sephardi minyan, or one Orthodox minyan and one Conservative minyan, though the latter would typically only happen in a community center or other communally owned building. Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, Aškanazi,Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAškănāzî, ʾAškănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... Sephardim (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazim and/or . ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a modern denomination of Judaism that arose in United States in the early 1900s. ...

Women are counted as part of the minyan in most non-Orthodox synagogues and prayer gatherings.

Laws

According to halakha (Jewish law), a minyan is required for many parts (D'varim SheB'Kedusha "Holy utterances") of the communal prayer service, including Barechu, Kaddish, repetition of the Amidah, the Priestly Blessing, and the Torah and Haftarah readings. Women are not required to pray with a minyan, and thus Judaism has traditionally counted only men in the minyan for formal prayer. Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Kaddish (Hebrew: קדיש, sanctification) refers to an important and central blessing in the Jewish prayer service. ... The Amidah (Standing), also called the Shemoneh Esreh (The Eighteen), is the central prayer in the Jewish liturgy that observant Jews recite each morning, afternoon, and evening. ... The Priestly Blessing, (in Hebrew: Birkat Kohanim, ברכת כהנים) is a Jewish ceremony and prayer recited during services. ... Torah reading (in Hebrew: Kriat HaTorah or Reading [of] the Torah) has followed a steady pattern for the past two thousand years following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and is still practiced by Orthodox Judaism and its adherents. ... The haftarah (haftara, haphtara, haphtarah, Hebrew הפטרה‎; plural haftarot, haftaros, haphtarot, haphtaros) is a text selected from the books of Neviim (The Prophets) that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Sabbath, as well as on Jewish festivals and fast days. ...

Rabbinic Judaism teaches that all men and women are obligated to pray to God each day, but the formal requirements for prayer are different for the sexes. Classical rabbinic authorities are in agreement that men are required to pray from a set liturgy three times a day; however, they were of varied opinions as to precisely what the requirements were for women. In the last 300 years many traditional rabbis have followed a trend in which women are seen as being required to follow many (though not all) of the same requirements as men. For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, one of the manifestations of the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

The 19th century posek Yechiel Michel Epstein, author of the Arukh HaShulkhan, notes: "Even though the rabbis set prayer at fixed times in fixed language, it was not their intention to issue a leniency and exempt women from this ritual act". One of the most important codes of law in Ashkenazi Orthodox Judaism (outside of Hasidic Judaism) is the Mishnah Berurah by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan. He holds that the Men of the Great Assembly obligated women to say Shacharit (morning) and Minchah (afternoon) prayer services each day, "just like men". He further states that although women are technically exempt from reciting the Shema Yisrael, they should nevertheless say it anyway. In Conservative Judaism, most rabbis hold this view as well. However, many Jews still rely on the ruling of the (Ashkenazi) Rabbi Avraham Gombiner in his Magen Avraham commentary on the Shulkhan Arukh (section Orach Chayim 106:2), and more recently the (Sephardi) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Yabiah Omer vol. 6, 17), that women are only required to pray once a day, in any form they choose, so long as the prayer contains praise of (brakhot), requests to (bakashot), and thanks of (hodot) God.[1] Posek (Hebrew פוסק, IPA: , pl. ... Rabbi Yichiel Michel Epstein Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829-1907), often called the Aruch ha-Shulchan (after his main work, Arukh HaShulkhan), was a Rabbi and posek (authority in Jewish law) in Lithuania. ... The Arukh HaShulkhan is a work of Jewish scholarship, written by Yechiel Michel Epstein. ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, Aškanazi,Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAškănāzî, ʾAškănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Hasidic Judaism (from the Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות, meaning piety, from the Hebrew root word chesed חסד meaning loving kindness) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Mishnah Berurah (Hebrew: Clarified Teaching) is a work of halakha (Jewish law) by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, better known as The Chofetz Chaim (Poland, 1838 - 1933). ... Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Shema Yisrael (or Shma Yisroel or just Shema) (Hebrew: שמע ישראל; Hear, [O] Israel) are the first two words of a section of the Torah (Hebrew Bible) that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a modern denomination of Judaism that arose in United States in the early 1900s. ... Avraham Gombiner (circa 1633-circa 1683) was a rabbi and Talmudist and a leading religious authority in the Jewish community of Kalisch, Poland during the seventeenth century. ... Avraham Gombiner (circa 1633-circa 1683) was a rabbi and Talmudist and a leading religious authority in the Jewish community of Kalisch, Poland during the seventeenth century. ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... Orach Chayim is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Ashers compilation of Jewish Law, Arbaah Turim, that treats all aspects of Jewish Law primarily pertinent to the Jewish calendar (whether the daily, weekly, monthly, or annual calendar). ... Sephardim (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazim and/or . ... Bold textOvadia Yosef (born Abdullah Youssef in 1920) is an Israeli Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar and a recognized authority in halakha (Jewish Law). He is the former Sephardic chief rabbi of the State of Israel and is the current spiritual leader of the Shas political party in Israel. ...

While women are not required to pray with a minyan, it is commonly believed that Jewish law requires that men pray in a minyan, but this not exactly correct. None of the Mishnah, Talmud or later codes of Jewish law hold this as requirement. Rather, it is described as a preferred activity, but not as mandatory. The Shulkhan Arukh (section Orach Chayim 90:9) says "A person should make every effort to attend services in a synagogue with a quorum; if circumstances prevent him from doing so, he should pray, wherever he is, at the same time that the synagogue service takes place". According to the author (Rabbi Yosef Karo), no Jew has an obligation to public prayer. That said, communal prayer, which requires a minyan, is historically viewed as an almost-obligation—while not a requirement, it is regarded as anti-social to not join in communal prayer. The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions of Jewish law, ethics, customs, legends, and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... Rabbi Yosef (Joseph) Ben Ephraim Karo is one of the most important leaders in the history of halakha (Jewish law). ...

Men have no halakhic obligation to pray in a minyan. It is, nevertheless, strongly encouraged. According to Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah (Hilkhot Tefillah 8.1): Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Moshe ben Maimon (March 30, 1135–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ...

The prayer of the community is always heard; and even if there were sinners among them [i.e., the minyan], the Holy One, blessed be He, never rejects the prayer of the multitude. Hence a person must join himself with the community, and should not pray by himself so long as he is able to pray with the community. And a person should always go to the synagogue morning and evening, for his prayer is only heard at all times in the synagogue. And whoever has a synagogue in his city and does not pray there with the community is called a bad neighbor.

According to many Orthodox authorities [2], women count as part of the minyan of 10 required for a number of mitzvot; including publicizing the miracle of Esther on Purim; public remembrance of Amalek in Parshat Zachor; public recitation of the Birkhat Hagomel blessing after surviving severe illness or danger; and public martyrdom, sanctification of G-d's name "in the midst of the children of Israel." (Leviticus 22:32). A few authorities also hold that 10 women can, at least under some circumstances, constitute a minyan for purposes of zimmun b'shem leading Birkat HaMazon. Mitzvah מצוה is Hebrew for commandment (plural mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah - command). ... The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. ... Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm Lots, from Akkadian pÅ«ru) is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. ... According to the Book of Genesis and 1 Chronicles, Amalek (עֲמָלֵק; Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) was the son of Eliphaz and the grandson of Esau (Gen. ... Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews. ... Birkat Hamazon (ברכת המזון), known in English as the Grace After Meals (lit. ...

While the required quorum for most activities requiring a quorum is usually ten, it is not always so. For example, the Passover sacrifice or Korban Pesach (from the days of the Temple in Jerusalem) must be offered before a quorum of 30. (It must be performed in front of kahal adat yisrael, the assembly of the congregation of Israel. Ten are needed for the assembly, ten for the congregation, and ten for Israel.) According to some Talmudic authorities, women counted in the minyan for offering the Korban Pesach (e.g. Rav, Rav Kahana, Pesachim 79b). Passover (Hebrew: פסח; transliterated as Pesach or Pesah), also called חג המצות (Chag HaMatzot - Festival of Matzot) is a Jewish holiday that always begins on the 15th day of Nisan (on the Hebrew calendar), which falls in the early spring and commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. ... Korban (קרבן) (plural: Korbanot קרבנות) in Judaism, is commonly called a religious sacrifice or an offering in English, but is known as a Korban in Hebrew because its Hebrew root K [a] R [o] V (קרב) (or K [o] R [a] V) means to [come] Close (or Draw Near) [to God], which the... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in c. ...

Origin

A common misconception is that the requirement of ten to constitute a quorum comes from the fact that Abraham stopped decreasing his requests for God to spare Sodom and Gemorrah at ten "righteous" individuals (Genesis 18). In fact, the requirement comes from the sin of the spies (Numbers 14:27), in which the ten spies who bring a negative report of the land of Israel are referred to as an eidah or congregation (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 23b), though the Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 4,4) relates it to the ten brothers of Joseph who went down to Egypt to get food during a famine. The quorum of ten men is also referred to in the Book of Ruth 4:2. Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, (circa 1900 BCE) Standard Hebrew Avraham, Tiberian Hebrew ; Arabic ابراهيم ; Geez አብርሃም ) is regarded as the founding patriarch of the Israelites whom God chose to bless out of all the families of the earth. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, one of the manifestations of the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... In the Bible, Sodom and Gomorrah (עֲמוֹרָה, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , ) —were two cities destroyed by God for their sins. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions of Jewish law, ethics, customs, legends, and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, like its Babylonian counterpart (see Babylonian Talmud), is a collection of Rabbinic discussions elaborating on the Mishnah. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...

The number 10 for a minyan may not always have been consistent throughout history either. In Masechet Soferim (10:7) it is stated that in the Land of Israel, sometimes as few as 6 (i.e., one more than half of 10) men were counted as sufficient to say communal prayers. This view has not been codified as halakha. This article concerns the concept of The Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael) in Jewish and Christian thought throughout the history from its Biblical sources to the present day. ...

Customs

Some congregations (based on the Shulkhan Arukh section Orach Chayim 55) will include a boy touching a Torah scroll or holding a printed Tanakh as the tenth person if a minyan can be formed in no other way. The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... Orach Chayim is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Ashers compilation of Jewish Law, Arbaah Turim, that treats all aspects of Jewish Law primarily pertinent to the Jewish calendar (whether the daily, weekly, monthly, or annual calendar). ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach, IPA: or ) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ...

Changes in non-Orthodox forms of Judaism

In the mid 20th century some congregations in Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism began counting women as part of the minyan. Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis do not see themselves as bound by halakha, and the movements are committed to the equality of the sexes, rejecting historical practices that draw distinctions on the basis of gender; thus they disregard the traditional prohibition of counting women as part of a minyan. Conservative rabbis do see halakha as binding, and did not generally accept this practice until several responsa were offered by rabbis that attempted to justify this practice as in accord with halakha. These responsa were accepted by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly (though Orthodox Jews do not accept their validity). Since that time the practice of accepting women as part of the minyan has spread to all of Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, and most Conservative Jewish synagogues. Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ... Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a modern denomination of Judaism that arose in United States in the early 1900s. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a movement of Judaism with a very liberal set of beliefs: an individuals personal autonomy should generally override traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also take into account communal consensus, modern culture is accepted, traditional rabbinic modes of study, as well as modern scholarship and critical... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. ... The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards is the central authority on halakha (Jewish law and tradition) within Conservative Judaism; it is one of the most active and widely know committees on the Conservative movements Rabbinical Assembly. ... Originally set up as the alumni association of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the official, international body of Conservative rabbis, with some 1400 members. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ...

External links

• MinyanMaps.com - Find A Mapped Orthodox Synagogue and Minyan, Sorted By Time and Through Text Messaging
• Minyan - Jewish Encyclopedia article.
• GoDaven.com Find an Orthodox Minyan anywhere in the world.
• What is a Minyan? on Ask Moses
• What's the Truth about... Davening with a Minyan? (OU.org-PDF).
• Minyan in the Jewish Knowledge Base on Chabad.org
• Frimer, A., Women and Minyan. Tradition 23:4, pp. 54-77 (1988) (Modern Orthodox view of women in minyan for various purposes)