The word cherem has multiple, and sometimes contradictory, meanings in the Torah, including to ban, devote, consecrate, proscribe, excommunicate or exterminate. In our common parlance, it refers to the banning of a person through excommunication.

A cherem can be applied to a specific individual who has done something wrong, in which case the person must be specified by name. And at times, it can be applied in advance, stating that anyone who commits a certain act will be placed in cherem. This is known as a “public” cherem.

Ezra Enacts a Cherem

The cherem is generally used as a tool to deter people from certain harmful behaviors. One of the earliest examples of excommunication is when Ezra returned from Babylon to the Holy Land to rebuild the Holy Temple. He found that many Jews, including priests and Levites, had married idol-worshipping women and were engaging in various sins. Distressed, Ezra prayed, fasted and publicly mourned. He then assembled all the Israelites, who acknowledged their wrongdoing and agreed to send away their foreign wives and children.

To enforce this, Ezra issued a proclamation requiring all Israelites to gather in Jerusalem within three days. Anyone who failed to come would be placed under cherem: their property would be confiscated and they would be treated as outcasts.1

The Evolving Role of Cherem

Over the centuries, the nature of cherem changed somewhat, and from the time of the Talmud onwards, it generally did not include confiscation of property.

As Israel lost its sovereignty, the power of the court to enforce the laws and administer punishment was limited, leaving cherem—which was enacted by the people themselves—as the sole effective sanction. As Rabbi Yehuda “the pious” (1150-1217) noted, “Nowadays, there is no remedy for Israel except through an oath and cherem."2

Reasons for Being Placed in Cherem

Maimonides lists 24 reasons why one might be placed in cherem.3 One of its main functions is to maintain the dignity and power of the courts and ensure adherence to the majority opinion in halachic decisions.

Thus, cherem could be applied to:

  • One who degrades the words of the sages.
  • One who disrespects the messenger of the court.
  • One who fails to appear after being summoned by the court.
  • One who does not accept the court’s judgment.
  • One who litigates against a Jew in non-Jewish courts and extracts money contrary to Jewish law. (He is excommunicated until he repays.)

A notable example of cherem being applied to protect the integrity of the court is the story of the Oven of Achnai,4 after which Rabban Gamliel excommunicated Rabbi Eliezer for refusing to yield to the consensus of the rabbis. The Talmud recounts that upon seeing Rabbi Eliezer’s great distress, Rabban Gamliel attested to G‑d, “You know that I did this not for my honor... but for Your honor, so that disputes will not increase in Israel.”

There are also various infractions for which one could, in theory, be ostracized (see list in footnote above). However, in practice, excommunication was generally only utilized in cases where the community infrastructure was going to potentially be undermined.5

The Talmud6 brings many instances of people being ostracized for various reasons. For example, a maid from the household of Rabbi Judah the Prince called for a ban on a man who was beating his grown son, something she knew would drive the boy to retaliate.

Three Levels of Ostracizing

There are three “levels” of ostracizing, all of which may be referred to by the general term of nidui: nezifah, shamata (at times simply referred to as nidui), and cherem:

Nezifah (rebuke): A leader or Torah scholar rebukes the individual, telling him he is insolent, etc. The individual goes home in shame and remains there for seven days.7 The person does not require formal permission to end this period of rebuke; once he has acted as someone rebuked for the necessary time, the “rebuke” period is automatically terminated.8

At times, sages would, of their own volition, act as one under nezifah as a form of repentance if they felt they had slighted one of their colleagues.9

Shamata (nidui): Shamata means “curse.” A standard shamata lasts for 30 days, but the timeframe can vary based on what the court deems fitting for that situation.10

The punishment for one who is placed in a shamata (nidui) can be all or some of the following:11

  • No one sits within four cubits of them, except their spouse and household.
  • No one eats with them.
  • A man is not included in a zimmun (invitation to bless after meals) or counted in a minyan (quorum of ten).
  • Like mourners, they are prohibited from washing, cutting hair and wearing shoes.

However, one may learn Torah with them, teach them, and conduct business with them—all from a distance of four cubits.

Cherem: This is the most severe form of excommunication, and it is a complete separation and ostracization from the community.

The excommunicated person is not taught Torah, studied with, worked with, or benefited beyond their basic needs. The court has the authority to intensify the punishment as needed.

If the excommunicated person dies, the court sends and places a stone on his coffin, and he is not mourned or eulogized.

How Did It Happen?

In general, one would not be excommunicated unless they were forewarned by the rabbinical court multiple times.

The severest form, cherem, is performed publicly in the synagogue by candlelight, accompanied by shofar blasts. The curses from the Torah are read, and at the end of the reading, the candles are extinguished to symbolize that the light of heaven is extinguished and the light of G‑d no longer shines on the excommunicated.

The wording of the cherem varies according to the person and their sin.

Excommunication can be lifted by a simple court of three or a single leading rabbi, and they say to him, "You are released, forgiven." Cherem can be lifted even in abstentia.12

Cherem of Rabbeinu Gershom

As mentioned, in addition to excommunication or ostracization after the fact, the rabbis would often decree that anyone who would commit a certain act would automatically be under cherem.

Perhaps the most famous is Rabbeinu Gershom, known as Meor Hagolah (the Luminary of the Exiles), who lived around 960-1040 CE.

He famously put a cherem upon anyone who would transgress the following enactments:

Prohibition of Polygamy: He prohibited a Jewish man from taking more than one wife This was a significant change, as there was no biblical prohibition against marrying more than one woman.

Consent for Divorce: He required the consent of both parties for a divorce. This was a major step in protecting the rights of women.

Prohibition of Opening Others’ Mail: He prohibited the opening of correspondence addressed to someone else. One who read the document without permission was in violation of Rabbeinu Gershom's excommunication edict.13

Judgment and Mercy

The Talmud explains that the act of excommunication permeates the entire person. This is hinted to in the very word cherem (חרם), which has the numerical value of 248, alluding to the fact that the “curse” permeates all 248 limbs of the person.14 One who is ostracized by the Rabbinical court in the physical realm is also ostracized by the heavenly court, and it affects the person spiritually.15

Although a cherem is generally viewed as an act of judgment and severity, the word cherem (חרם) has the same letters as the word “mercy” (רחם),16 because specifically after something as devastating as a cherem we can look forward to G‑d’s mercies. For in truth, they were there below the surface the whole time.