The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1526 page)

 
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(Heb., ‘partition’). Partition screen between men's and women's seating in Jewish
synagogues
. In synagogues, either women sit in a separate gallery which is screened off, or a partition is placed between the front seats and the back seats. The
Progressive
movement has abolished the mehizah.

 
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Meiji
.

Throne-name of the Japanese emperor under whom imperial rule was restored in 1868, after the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate; hence the name of the era, 1868–1912 (when Meiji died). The era is characterized by the slogan, ‘Enrich the nation and strengthen its arms’. The leaders pursued a policy of ambitious innovation combined with vigorous adherence to the traditions and values of the past. Among the military leaders of the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate was Saig
Takamori (1827–77), who advocated aggressive policies (especially against Korea), and who revived the
samurai
ideals—in ways that led eventually to the
kamikaze
(winds of the
kami
) pilots of the Second World War, who, like Saig
, were prepared to die without hesitation.

 
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(2nd cent. CE)
. Jewish
tanna
. R. Meir was a student of
Akiva
,
Ishmael
, and
Elisha b. Abuyah
. After the renewal of the
Sanhedrin
, Meir was appointed
akham
, but, as a result of a conflict with the
nasi
,
Simeon b. Gamaliel
, it was decreed that all Meir's later statements quoted in the
Mishnah
should be introduced anonymously. None the less, Meir made considerable contributions to the halakhah.

 
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(
c.
1215–93).
Jewish scholar and community leader. Meir was born into a prominent scholarly family. As a young man, he witnessed a public burning of the
Talmud
in France which prompted him to write a poem of mourning that is included in the
Ashkenazi
liturgy
for 9
Av
. Reputed as the greatest scholar of his generation, he acted as supreme arbiter in community disputes in Germany. His
responsa
were sent throughout W. Europe, and about a thousand still survive. As well as his responsa, he wrote
tosafot
to eighteen tractates of the Talmud, commentaries on two orders of the
Mishnah
, and compendia of laws for special purposes.

 
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