Minyan

 

Our class discussion on Thursday had mentioned the practice of having a group of 10 Jewish adults (only male adults if I remember correctly) that were required in order for certain religious practices such as prayer. This group of 10 was called a minyan, and I was intrigued by the idea of this practice. While Minyan calls for 10 adult males for what I recalled to be prayer, in Matthew 18:20 of the Bible it says that “for where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them”, and was speaking of prayer to God. As such, it prompted some questions, and I wanted to know a little more about minyan such as why it is a practice, if it is still a practice in modern day Judaism, and what the ramifications of it are.

As it turns out, a minyan (or a quorum) is simply the word for the group of 10, and certain practices require there to be a minyan to engage in the rituals. These 10 men are meant to be a “representative ‘community of Israel’”, and boys 13 and older may participate after their Bar Mitzvahs (Minyan). As this practice is still very much a part of Jewish tradition, it should also be noted that “a number of authorities ruled that women may even be counted in the minyan required for the sanctification of God's name” and may participate in prayers such as kiddush hashem, barekhu, kaddish and kedushah (Golinkin). When this quorum is not met, there is no public reading of the Torah, no Haftarah, and no Kaddish, “for none of these is considered appropriate unless the ‘Jewish community’ prays as one” (Minyan).

The need for there to be 10 people, however, apparently originates from the Old Testament days. One explanation goes all the way back to the days of Noah’s ark, explaining that there were 8 people total on the boat (hose being Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives), “plus the divine spirit, and that was not enough to save the world from destruction” (What is the origin of a Minyan being ten men?). This explanation points towards the belief that if there had in fact been 10 people, God would not have flooded the earth as he did. Another explanation is that prior to God destroying the cities of Sodom and Gamorrah, He promised that He would spare the two cities if there were ten righteous people within the cities, and because (much like with the ark) there were not 10 righteous people, the cities were ultimately destroyed (What is the origin of a Minyan being ten men?). 

Resources

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Minyan. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/minyan 

Golinkin, R. D. (n.d.). Conservative responsa in Israel - masorti Responsa - Schechter Institute of Jewish studies - SIJS. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20110719175019/http://www.responsafortoday.com/engsums/6_5.htm

What is the origin of a Minyan being ten men? The Movement for Reform Judaism. (2011, August 3). Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/origin-minyan-ten-men/