The Birkat ha-Minim, is a Jewish prayer of blessing on heretics in general, and sometimes Christians, though in this context "blessing" may also be a euphemism for a curse.

The writing of the benediction is attributed to Shmuel ha-Katan at the supposed Council of Jamnia

Council of Jamnia

The Council of Jamnia or Council of Yavne is a hypothetical late 1st-century council at which it is postulated the canon of the Hebrew Bible was finalized....

 which was inserted in the "Eighteen Benedictions" as the 19th blessing in the silent prayer to be said thrice daily, the Amidah

Amidah

The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...

. The benediction is thus seen as related to the Pharisees

Pharisees

The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...

, the development of the Jewish Bible canon

Development of the Jewish Bible canon

Rabbinic Judaism recognizes the 24 books of the Masoretic Text, commonly called the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible, as authoritative. Evidence suggests that the process of canonization occurred between 200 BCE and 200 CE. A popular former theory is that the Torah was canonized c. 400 BCE, the Prophets c....

, the split of early Christianity and Judaism as heresy in Judaism

Heresy in Judaism

Jewish heretics who are Jewish individuals whose works have, in part or in whole, been condemned as heretical by significant persons or groups in the larger Jewish community based on the classical teachings of Judaism and derived from Halakha -Minim:Hilchot Teshuva Chapter 3 Halacha 7 Five peoples...

, the origins of Rabbinic Judaism

Origins of Rabbinic Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century, after the codification of the Talmud. Rabbinic Judaism gained predominance within the Jewish diaspora between the 2nd to 6th centuries, with the development of the oral law and the Talmud to control the...

, Origins of Christianity

Origins of Christianity

For centuries, the traditional understanding has been that Judaism came before Christianity and that Christianity separated from Judaism some time after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE....

, Christianity in the 1st century

Christianity in the 1st century

The earliest followers of Jesus composed an apocalyptic, Jewish sect, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity. The Apostles and others following the Great Commission's decree to spread the teachings of Jesus to "all nations," had great success spreading the religion to gentiles. Peter,...

, and history of early Christianity

History of early Christianity

The history of early Christianity covers Christianity before the First Council of Nicaea in 325.The first part of the period, during the lifetimes of the Twelve Apostles, is traditionally believed to have been initiated by the Great Commission of Jesus , and is called the Apostolic Age...

.

Textual variations

The blessing exists in various forms. Only two medieval Cairo Genizah copies equate Minim

Minim

Minim may refer to:* Minim , a note length, another name for a half note * MINIM , an industrial rock band from Spain* Minim , an amount of fluid...

 and Notzrim "Nazarenes", "Christians."

Identification of Minim

The extent of the minim

Minim

Minim may refer to:* Minim , a note length, another name for a half note * MINIM , an industrial rock band from Spain* Minim , an amount of fluid...

included by the birkat is debated. During the medieval period, whether the birkat had historically included Christians or not became both a part of disputations, a pretext for persecution, and a cause for concern for the safety of Jewish communities. It is generally viewed in modern studies that the term "heretics" at an early point in the split between Christianity and Judaism had included Jewish apostates to Christianity. It was David Flusser's view (1992) that the Birkat haMinim was added in reference to the Sadducees

Sadducees

The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...

.

Many scholars have seen reference to the Birkat haMinim in Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....

's complaint to Trypho of the Jews "cursing in your synagogues those that believe on Christ." Reuven Kimelman (1981) challenged this, noting that Justin's description places the curse in the wrong sequence in the synagogue service.