Minhag

A minhag (Hebrew: מִנְהָג, lit. 'custom'; pl. מִנְהָגִים, minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, nusach (pronounced [ˈnusax]; נוּסָח, 'formula'), refers to the traditional ordering and forms of Jewish prayer.

Etymology

The triliteral n-h-g (Hebrew: נ־ה־ג) means primarily "to drive" or, by extension, "to conduct [oneself]". The Hebrew word minhag appears twice in the Hebrew Bible—both times in the same verse of 2 Kings 9:20. In the RJPS version, it is translated as "driving" and "drives", respectively:

And the lookout reported, "The messenger has reached them, but has not turned back. And it looks like the driving of Jehu, son of Nimshi, who drives wildly."

Homiletically, one could argue that the use of the word minhag in Jewish law (הֲלָכָה, Halakha) reflects its Biblical Hebrew origins as "the [manner of] driving [a chariot]" (à la 2 Jehu in 2 Kings 9:20). Whereas Halakha translates roughly to "the way of walking", minhag lends itself to the styles that Jews developed vis-à-vis Halakha. Furthermore, derekh (דֶּרֶךְ), which translates roughly to "path", is the itinerary Jewish communities maintain while walking.

The present use of minhag for "custom" may have been influenced by the Arabic minhaj; in current Islamic usage, the term is used for the intellectual methodology of a scholar or school of thought rather than for the customs of a local or ethnic community.

Minhag and Jewish law

In addition to the 613 commandments, Jews have traditionally considered Halakha—Jewish law as given in the Tanakh and exposited and recorded in the Mishnah, Talmud, responsa literature, and other codes—to be normative and binding upon all Jews.