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Glite Dictionary
🚫 Religious ban 🙏 Sacred dedication 💥 Divine destruction
herem

herem

9.9
A formal ban that stops a person from being part of a religious group
  • noun
  • /ˈhɛrɛm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : herem
  • The rabbi declared a herem on any member who failed to observe the community rules.

Examples

  • The community faced a herem when their leader was excommunicated for his controversial teachings.

  • This was also the time when the Gaon pronounced a 'Herem' (excommunication) against those who strayed from the path.

    Blog text (13)

  • After much deliberation, the elders agreed to impose a herem on those who spread falsehoods within the congregation.

Synonyms

banishment
vsherem
14 7.6

The act of forcing someone to leave a country or community as punishment

is a formal religious exclusion rather than physical removal
excommunication
vsherem
  • Formal
11 9.8

Officially not allowed to take part in a Christian church's services or religious ceremonies

is a formal Jewish ban excluding someone from the community
ostracism
vsherem
4 7.9

Leaving someone out of a group on purpose

is an official religious exclusion with communal consequences
social ostracism
vsherem
1 7.6

Leaving a person out of social activities so they feel alone

is a formal religious exclusion rather than informal social rejection
excision
vsherem
  • Formal
1 9.8

Removing a person from a church and its membership

is a Jewish religious form of formal communal expulsion

Surface Forms

herem singular
herem plural

Etymology

Herem comes from the Hebrew word cherem, which meant 'ban' or 'to set apart', and it is related to Arabic haram meaning 'forbidden'. So a modern herem is a formal ban that cuts someone off from the community.