Kanai (Judaism)
Encyclopedia
Kanai is a term for a zealot. It means one who is zealous on behalf of God.
. Pinchas was rewarded by God for his zealotry because he didn't act out of hate or for any personal gain. He meant solely for the sake of God.
as one of the "four sects" of Judaism during his time, was a political movement in first century Judaism
which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province
to rebel against the Roman Empire
and expel it from the holy land
by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt (66-70 CE).
who fought the remnants of the Sabbateans was considered a kanai.
Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin
who banned the secular institutions.
are called kanaim. Its leader was the Jerusalem born Rabbi Amram Blau
.
In modern history Kana'ut (zealotry) has taken on new meanings. While during the previous centuries Kana'ut was considered a positive attribute, which simulated the zealotry of Pinchas; the kana'im of today are considered by many religious Jews as fanatic. Those feelings became more pronounced when a delegation of the Neturei Karta
attended the conference in Tehran on Holocaust Denial
. Many Jewish organizations including the Anti-Zionist Satmar
issued a formal protest.
The first kanai
The first kanai mentioned in the Tanach is PinchasPhinehas, son of Eleazar
Phinehas was a High Priest of Israel in the wilderness, the grandson of Aaron, and son of Eleazar the High Priest , who distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim by his zeal against the Heresy of Peor: the immorality with which the Moabites and Midianites had successfully tempted the people to...
. Pinchas was rewarded by God for his zealotry because he didn't act out of hate or for any personal gain. He meant solely for the sake of God.
Kanaim of the 1st century
Zealotry, described by JosephusJosephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
as one of the "four sects" of Judaism during his time, was a political movement in first century Judaism
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province
Iudaea Province
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
to rebel against the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and expel it from the holy land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt (66-70 CE).
Kanaim of the 18th century
Rabbi Jacob EmdenJacob Emden
Jacob Emden also known as Ya'avetz, , was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement...
who fought the remnants of the Sabbateans was considered a kanai.
Kanaim of the 19th century in the Holy Land
Starting in the middle of the 19th century, those fighting the attempts of the Maskilim to introduce secular institutions to Jerusalem were known as kanaim. Among the kanaim was the leader of the PerushimPerushim
The Perushim were disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, then under Ottoman rule...
Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin
Yehoshua Leib Diskin
Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin , also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk and finally Jerusalem, after moving to Eretz Yisrael in 1878....
who banned the secular institutions.
Kanaim in the 20th century
The Anti-Zionist Neturei kartaNeturei Karta
Neturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group formally created in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel...
are called kanaim. Its leader was the Jerusalem born Rabbi Amram Blau
Amram Blau
Amram Blau was a Haredi rabbi from the Hungarian community of Jerusalem. He was one of the founders of the fiercely Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta.Blau was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in the Meah Shearim neighbourhood...
.
In modern history Kana'ut (zealotry) has taken on new meanings. While during the previous centuries Kana'ut was considered a positive attribute, which simulated the zealotry of Pinchas; the kana'im of today are considered by many religious Jews as fanatic. Those feelings became more pronounced when a delegation of the Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group formally created in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel...
attended the conference in Tehran on Holocaust Denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
. Many Jewish organizations including the Anti-Zionist Satmar
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
issued a formal protest.