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Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm (in Biblical Hebrew: כְּתוּבִים "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (teachings) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa".^{[citation needed]} The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under the Ruach HaKodesh, but with one level less authority than that of prophecy.^[1]

Found among the Writings within the Hebrew scriptures, I and II Chronicles form one book, along with Ezra and Nehemiah which form a single unit entitled "Ezra-Nehemiah".^[2] (In citations by chapter and verse numbers, however, the Hebrew equivalents of "Nehemiah", "I Chronicles" and "II Chronicles" are used, as the system of chapter division was imported from Christian usage.) Collectively, eleven books are included in the Ketuvim.

Groups of books[link]

The poetic books[link]

In masoretic manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses, which are a function of their poetry. Collectively, these three books are known as Sifrei Emet (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, איוב, משלי, תהלים yields Emet אמ"ת, which is also the Hebrew for "truth").

These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system of cantillation notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system.

[edit] The five scrolls (Hamesh Megillot)

The five relatively short books of Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Book of Esther are collectively known as the Hamesh Megillot (The Five Scrolls). These are the latest books collected and designated as "authoritative" in the Jewish canon even though they were not complete until the 2nd century CE.^[3] These scrolls are traditionally read over the course of the year in many Jewish communities. The list below presents them in the order they are read in the synagogue on holidays, beginning with the Song of Solomon on Passover.

Other books[link]

Besides the three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim are Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles. Although there is no formal grouping for these books in the Jewish tradition, they nevertheless share a number of distinguishing characteristics:

• Their narratives all openly describe relatively late events (i.e. the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent restoration of Zion).
• The Talmudic tradition ascribes late authorship to all of them.
• Two of them (Daniel and Ezra) are the only books in Tanakh with significant portions in Aramaic.

Order of the books[link]

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The following list presents the books of Ketuvim in the order they appear in most printed editions. It also divides them into three subgroups based on the distinctiveness of Sifrei Emet and Hamesh Megillot.

The Three Poetic Books (Sifrei Emet)

• 1. Tehillim (Psalms) תהלים
• 2. Mishlei (Book of Proverbs) משלי
• 3. Iyyôbh (Book of Job) אִיּוֹב

The Five Scrolls (Hamesh Megillot)

• 4. Shīr Hashshīrīm (Song of Songs) or (Song of Solomon) שִׁיר הַשׁשִׁירִים (Passover)
• 5. Rūth (Book of Ruth) רוּת (Shavuot)
• 6. Eikhah (Lamentations) איכה (Ninth of Av) [Also called Kinnot in Hebrew.]
• 7. Qōheleth (Ecclesiastes) קהלת (Sukkot)
• 8. Estēr (Book of Esther) אֶסְתֵר (Pûrîm)

Other Books

• 9. Dānî’ēl (Book of Daniel) דָּנִיֵּאל
• 10. ‘Ezrā (Book of Ezra-Book of Nehemiah) עזרא
• 11. Divrei ha-Yamim (Chronicles) דברי הימים

The Jewish textual tradition never finalized the order of the books in Ketuvim. The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 14b-15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles.^{[citation needed]}

In Tiberian Masoretic codices, including the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex, and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Ezra.^{[citation needed]}

Canonization[link]

The Ketuvim is the last of the three portions of the Tanakh to have been accepted as Biblical canon. While the Torah may have been considered canon by Israel as early as the 5th century BCE and the Former and Latter Prophets were canonized by the 2nd century BCE, the Ketuvim was not a fixed canon until the 2nd century of the Common Era.^[4]

Evidence suggests, however, that the people of Israel were adding what would become the Ketuvim to their holy literature shortly after the canonization of the prophets. As early as 132 BCE we have references suggesting that the Ketuvim was starting to take shape, though it lacked a formal title.^[5] We also know from references in the four Gospels as well as other books of the New Testament that many of these texts were both commonly known and counted as having some degree of religious authority early in the 1st century CE.

Many scholars believe that the limits of the Ketuvim as canonized scripture were determined by the Council of Jamnia c. 90 CE. Indeed, Against Apion, the writing of Josephus in 95 CE, treated the text of the Hebrew Bible as a closed canon to which "... no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable..."^[6] However, we know that for a long time following this date that the divine inspiration of Esther, the Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes was often under scrutiny.^[7]

Liturgical use[link]

There is no formal system of synagogal reading of Ketuvim equivalent to the Torah portion and haftarah. It is thought that there was once a cycle for reading the Psalms, parallel to the triennial cycle for Torah reading, as the number of psalms (150) is similar to the number of Torah portions in that cycle, and remnants of this tradition exist in Italy. All Jewish liturgies contain copious extracts from the Psalms, but these are normally sung to a regular recitative or rhythmic tune rather than read or chanted. Some communities also have a custom of reading Proverbs in the weeks following Pesach, and Job on the Ninth of Ab.

The five megillot are read on the festivals, as mentioned above, though Sephardim have no custom of public reading of Song of Songs on Passover or Ecclesiastes on Sukkot. There are traces of an early custom of reading a haftarah from Ketuvim on Shabbat afternoons, but this does not survive in any community. Some Reform communities that operate a triennial cycle choose haftarot on Shabbat morning from Ketuvim as well as Neviim.

Extraliturgical public reading[link]

In some Near and Middle Eastern Jewish traditions, the whole of Ketuvim (as well as the rest of the Tanakh and the Mishnah) is read each year on a weekly rota, usually on Shabbat afternoons. These reading sessions are not considered to be synagogue services, and often took place in the synagogue courtyard.

Cantillation[link]

Medieval sources speak of three cantillation melodies, for Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim respectively. Today the position is more complicated. Oriental Sephardic communities preserve cantillation systems for the three poetic books, namely Psalms, Proverbs and the main part of Job (usually a different melody for each of the three books). No such systems exist in the Ashkenazi or Spanish and Portuguese traditions. However, the Ashkenazic yeshiva known as Aderet Eliyahu, in the Old City of Jerusalem, uses an adaptation of the Syrian cantillation-melody for these books, and this is becoming more popular among other Ashkenazim as well.

In all communities there are special cantillation melodies for Lamentations and Esther, and in some communities for the Song of Songs. Otherwise, the melody for the book of Ruth is considered the "default" melody for books of the Ketuvim not otherwise provided for. The "prose" passages at the beginning and end of the book of Job, as read on Tisha B'Av, may be read either to the tune of Ruth or to one resembling that for the Song of Songs.

The Targum to Ketuvim[link]

Western targumim exist on Sifrei Emet, on the Five Megillot and on Chronicles, i.e. on all the books of Ketuvim besides Daniel and Ezra (which contain large portions in Aramaic anyway). There are several complementary targumim to Esther.

There is, however, no "official" eastern (Babylonian) targum to Ketuvim, equivalent to Targum Onkelos on the Torah and Targum Jonathan on Nevi'im. In fact, the Babylonian Talmud explicitly notes the lack of a Targum to Ketuvim, explaining that Jonathan ben Uzziel was divinely prevented from completing his translation of the Bible. A more prosaic explanation may consist in the lack of formal readings of Ketuvim in the synagogue, making it unnecessary to have an official system for line-by-line translation.

See also[link]

• Books of the Bible

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Betesh and the Sephardic Pizmonim Project - Syrian melodies (all books)
• Tehillim on CD-Rom - Rabbi Shimon Alouf (Psalms, Syrian tradition).
• Leining Master (Ashkenazi melodies for five megillot).
• "Potpourri for Purim" Melodies for Megillat Ester in several traditions

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007)

Yedidia Shofet (also spelled Shophet, and often referred to as Hakham Yedidia) was the former Chief Rabbi of Iran and the worldwide spiritual leader of Persian Jewry.

Early Life and Biography[link]

Yedidia Shofet was born on 14 November 1908 in Kashan, Iran and was descended from twelve generations of Persian rabbis. Hakham Shofet was a remarkable rabbi who was reported to have known the entire Torah by heart and was a world authority on Jewish law and practice. He promoted unity and acceptance among all Jewish people.

According to Shofet's 2001 memoirs, written in Persian by Manucher Cohan, he was born in the central Iranian city of Kashan into a family with 12 generations of rabbis. Over the years, Shofet gradually gained prominence among Iran's Jews and non-Jews for his eloquent speeches and his ability to connect easily with all who approached him for help. Ultimately, he became a liaison and spokesperson for Iranian Jews before the Shah, government officials, and Islamic clerics. There's no such equivalent position for an Iranian Jewish leader in the United States.

In Iran, Shofet commanded enough respect to intervene when Jews were in dire trouble, for example, with the Iranian government. He was instrumental in persuading the Shah and other government officials in the early 1950s to allow Iraqi Jews, who had been forced to leave Iraq, to find temporary refuge in Iran before eventually immigrating to Israel, said Ebrahim Yahid, a close colleague of Shofet.

"We had many rabbis, teachers and hachamim in Iran, but he was the most open minded and most beloved of them all," Yahid said. "He was even respected by the most fanatic Islamic clerics in Iran who did not have friendships with Jews -- all because of his gentleness and humility."

Following the 1979 Iranian revolution, Shofet, along with thousands of other Iranian Jews, eventually immigrated to Southern California. While no longer working as a liaison for Iranian Jews, he continued to serve as a symbolic religious figure, urging Iranian Jewish families to preserve their Jewish tradition. In the United States, Shofet, with his son and other community leaders, helped establish the Nessah Educational & Cultural Center (Congregation Nessah Israel)[1], first in Santa Monica and then in Beverly Hills, California.

Hundreds attend the burial ceremony of Hacham Yedidia Shofet in Mission Hills, California - June 2005

Death[link]

Over the final five years of his life, Shofet was gradually forced to retire from community work due to failing health. His son took over day-to-day leadership duties.

He died on 24 June 2005 in Los Angeles; thousands attended his funeral. At his funeral, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Ovadiah Yosef, referred to Hakham Shofet as the "Prince of Torah." Hakham Shofet is buried at Eden Memorial Park in Los Angeles and Jews around the world continue to visit his grave to ask that he pray on their behalf.

Hacham Yedidia Shofet and Rabbi David Shofet meet with Israeli President Moshe Katsav

Legacy[link]

"Replacing Hacham Yedidia is impossible. The closest we can come to him is his very able son, Rav David Shofet, who has dedicated his life to Iranian Jewry like his father did," said Andy Abrishami, a Nessah board member and the elder Shofet's son-in-law. "It's hard to be a rabbi under any circumstances, especially when you're a rabbi for Iranian Jews, because their expectations are much higher, but he [David Shofet], with his humility and dedication, has captured the Iranian Jews' favor."