The Encyclopedia of World Religions

190 S halakhah

ity of things, when supernatural forces, such as spirits of nature and of the dead, could come into this world as on no other occasion. In Christian times Samhain was separated from New Year’s and made the eve of All SAINTS (All Hallows, hence Hal loween) Day. The old characteristics were remem bered and brought to the United States especially by Irish immigrants. It is now a time for masks and changing roles and, at least in fun, believing in supernatural entities, good and bad. Hamas The Arabic word for “zeal;” an acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement.” Hamas is a Palestinian organization that seeks to recover all traditional Palestinian land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. That includes land cur rently occupied by the state of Israel. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (1936–2004) founded Hamas in December 1987, shortly after the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, began. Earlier Palestinian movements, such as Yasser Arafat’s (1929–2004) Fatah, had taken seriously that not all Palestinians are Muslims; a sizable minority are Christians. They had taken as their goal the cre ation of a secular Palestinian state. Hamas adopted an Islamist position. It wanted to create an Islamic state, and it saw its struggles in specifically Islamic terms as JIHAD . Outside Palestinian territory Hamas has become notorious and widely condemned for the activities of its militant wing, the Izzedine al-Qas sam Brigade. The best known of all are the attacks of Hamas suicide bombers on Israeli civilians. These are barbaric acts, but many Palestinians see them as justified given the wretchedness of their living conditions and the hopelessness of their sit uation. In the Gaza strip, for example, 1.3 million Palestinians live on very little land; 80 percent of them live in poverty. Hamas has done more than violence, however; it has also established effective social services in Palestinian territories. It has constructed public buildings such as libraries, clinics, and mosques. It has provided food for the needy. It has also sup ported education and sports. In addition, Hamas

sneezing and yawning (cf. Sahih Bukhari 3.34.400; 8.73.68; 8.73.245). In the 20th century Muslims had varying atti tudes to Hadith. Some Muslims with an interest in “modernizing” Islam questioned the authenticity of Hadith. In doing so, they also questioned their authority. Other Muslims defended the Hadith staunchly. halakhah Hebrew word meaning “the way”; Jewish law in its most comprehensive form. J UDA ISM is a way of life more than a set of beliefs. Hal akhah defines every aspect of this way of life, pri vate as well as public. Thus, it is extremely impor tant in Judaism. Indeed, it defines Judaism. The basis of halakhah is T ORAH , that is, the first five books of the B IBLE . R ABBIS teach that Torah contains 613 instructions on life. These instructions are not, however, all sufficient. Questions arise when one tries to put them into practice, when one faces situations not discussed in Torah, and when the circumstances of life change. Other sources of halakhah include the rest of the Bible, oral Torah, that is, the T ALMUD , and custom. The oral Torah consists of interpretations that M OSES supposedly received orally on Mount Sinai and passed on to authoritative successors. The first important compilation of halakhah was the Mishna, made around 200 C . E . The com pilation with the most authority is the Shulhan Arukh of Joseph Caro (1488–1575). Today, besides defining religious practice, halakhah is the official legal code in the state of Israel for some civil, but not criminal, matters. For example, halakhah gov erns procedures for marriage and divorce. Halloween All Hallow’s Eve, October 31, a pop ular holiday emphasizing supernatural beings. This American festival, with its orange and black colors and witches, ghosts, and trick-or-treaters, is really a continuation of Samhain, the ancient Celtic New Year’s Day ( see CELTIC RELIGION and N EW Y EAR FESTI VALS ). Like all such times of beginnings, Samhain was seen as a day and night breaking the continu