InRabbinic literature,ḥiddush (Hebrew:חִדּוּשׁ; pluralḥiddushim,Hebrew:חִדּוּשׁים)[note 1] refers to a novel interpretation or approach to previously-existing ideas or works.[1][2] The term often describes a form of innovation that is made inside the system ofHalakha, as distinguished fromshinuy, an innovation outside tradition.[3][4][5][6][7]
Ḥiddush comes from the Hebrew rootח-ד-שׁ, meaningnew. The usage of the word in this context originated from the language ofTalmudic analysis and argumentation in theGemara.[8] It passed intoYiddish, where it is at times used informally.
Nachmanides states[9] that it is an "obligation imposed upon us to search through the subjects of theTorah and the precepts and bring to light their hidden contents".[10]
What "powers" ḥiddushim?MaaYana Shel Torah[11] asks regarding "VaYayLech Moshe" (31:1)—where did he go? and answers that he went into everyone:NichNas Moshe Rabbeinu LeToch ToCho Shel Kol Adam MiYisroel. This, he writes, is the basis of people having/writing ChiDuShim.
Although "anyḥiddush (novel idea) which a reputable disciple will ever come up with was already given to Moses by Sinai,"[12] in onerabbi's understanding of a particular ruling, he wrote: "I have always understood Rabbi Feinstein to be insisting on a balance between innovation and tradition.[13]
Ḥiddushim are the ongoing results of a process[10][14] and, as a form ofK’vod Hatorah, we're required not to forget them. New ways to recall what we learn can be a form ofḥiddush.[15]
There is a difference between issuing a ruling, meaning to "distinguish the case at hand from the precident [sic]... to solve a problem,"[13]: footnotes 4 & 5 and an understanding of something. Even in the latter case, he writes "What Rabbi Feinstein means is that one should not be innovative (mechadesh) just to innovate."
Although it is a Torah command for Kohanim to bless the people, there might be aḥiddush whether it is obligatory upon those who are not Kohanim to make themselves available to receive these blessings.[16]
Canalways benew? Psalm (27:4) has King David asking that he "dwell.. and visit.." Which is it? Rabbi Yissocher Frand explains the experience as "The Pitfall of Consistency: Been There, Done That."[17] This question is so important that it is a notable part of what many add to the daily prayer service, "twice daily from Rosh Chodesh Elul untilShemini Atzeret".[18]
Shabbat (שַׁבָּת), the Sabbath, is a day of rest. The word is spelled with 3 Hebrew letters. TheNotarikon of the three-word phrase "Shayna b'Shabbat Taanug" (שינה בשבת תענוג) (translation: "(Extra) Sleep on Shabbat is considered a Delight!") spells Shabbat (שַׁבָּת).[20][21]
By itself it might seem like at best a minorḥiddush. When published amidst a collection of many other such 3-word phrases about the day of rest, the title has justified use of the plural form:ḥiddushim.
The above term[24] points to a need for something "old" to be seen in a new light.[25] A multi-volume commentary onMesillas Yesharim[26] compares and contrasts this to emotional insight, a type of Chidush where "something which is novel emotionally" illuminates the value of an idea one already knew intellectually, and brings "a new internalization".
By the late sixteenth century, with printing an established technology, hair-splitting distinctions into the treatment ofhalakic-Talmudic themes became more frequent,[27] withḥiddush-driven works such as those by:
A counter-intuitive use of the term was theChasam Sofer's novel interpretation of the phraseChadash asur min haTorah, ("'new' is forbidden by the Torah"). The phrase as originally used is regarding the laws of keepingkosher, whereas his use was regarding changes being made by theReform movement in Europe: it was a way of saying no—but using a pun.[29]
In its regular, contemporary, use,ḥiddush means a novel or innovative (or unusual) idea or point;[30][8] examples:
"I once learned a very usefulchidush (novel idea) in the name of HaravMoshe Feinstein zt"l, concerning ..."[31]
"He is famous for his original insights on ..." (review: RabbiDovid Feinstein - Kol Dodi On Torah)[32]
and similarly, book titles may be of the following form:
The work known asChidushei HaRim, uses the Hebrew wordḥiddushei in the possessive form, and means "ḥiddushim of"
thus, an English language form is "ḥiddushim of (name of person)", with translation "Novellae of...".
Ḥiddush has to some extent become assimilated intoAmerican English;[33] and the word—particularly in "Yinglish"—is also commonly used in an ironic or humorous fashion, so as to imply that the statement in question is "nothing new".
^Levi, Leo (November 1990). "Chidush (Innovation)".Torah Study: A Survey of Classic Sources on Timely Issues (1st ed.). ALPHA.ISBN978-0873065559.
^Blech, Benjamin (September 2003). "Chapter 9: The Later Voices of Judaism".The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism (2nd ed.). Feldheim.ISBN978-1592571314.
^Sinclair, Rabbi Julian."Chiddush",The Jewish Chronicle, November 5, 2008. Accessed January 31, 2017. "Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-93) distinguishes between chiddush, innovation within a tradition, and shinui, change which represents a sharp break from tradition. In Rabbi Soloveitchik's view, chiddush is an aspect of imitatio Dei (imitation of God). Through it we become creative partners with God in the unfolding of the Torah's meanings. On the other hand, shinui, which is not deeply rooted in traditional knowledge, risks becoming subjective and arbitrary."
^"the results of a method of study of rabbinical literature which derives new ideas from talmudic and also rabbinic texts, in order to clarify halakhah."
^RavAvigdor Nebenzahl,"Parshas Ki Savo". Archived fromthe original on 2017-02-11. talks of tapes, CDs, notebooks summarized with indexes, indexes of accumulated notebooks, folders, "files on computers".
^Friedman, Ephraim."The Role of the Yisroel"(PDF). Retrieved2007-02-08. "One of the G’dolei Achronim who introduces this concept is the Hafloah (Rav Pinchas Horowitz zt’l, Rebi of the Chasam Sofer) in his chidushim to Meseches Kesuvos 24b. He maintains, that although the Torah is only explicit in commanding the Kohanim to deliver the brochos, since the mitzva can not be performed without the participation of the Yisroelim
^As defined in the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906, "A system of shorthand consisting in either simply abbreviating the words or in writing only one letter of each word. This system…was said by the Talmudists to have existed as early as the time of Moses; and they held that the latter used it in the composition of the Pentateuch. The law concerning noṭariḳon is the thirtieth of the thirty-two hermeneutic rules laid down by Eliezer b. Jose ha-Gelili for the interpretation of the Bible.” (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11602-notarikon)."
^"Professor to speak on Yiddish's influence on the English language".Jewish News - Your Community Weekly Serving Greater Phoenix & Northern Arizona. 30 November 2016.Sarah Bunin Benor, associate professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and adjunct associate professor of linguistics at the University of Southern California, will speak on 'Chutzpah to Chidush: A Century of Yiddish-Influenced English in America'
