Read The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions Online

Authors: John Bowker

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1555 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Miserere (Nobis)
(Lat., ‘have mercy on us’). A prayer in common use in Christianity, derived from such
Psalms
as 51. 1, and often used as a response (
Kyrie
eleison).
Mishnah
(Heb., ‘teaching’). The Jewish
oral law
, and in particular, the collection of oral law compiled by
Judah ha-Nasi
. The Mishnah is divided into six
sedarim
(Heb., ‘Orders’) known as
Zeraim
(Seeds),
Mo‘ed
(Festivals),
Nashim
(Women),
Nezikin
(Damages),
Kodashim
(Holy Things), and
Tohorot
(Purities): the
Talmuds
are based on these sedarim. The final text contains many different styles as well as an enormous variety of opinion. See also
TALMUD
;
ORAL LAW
.
Mishneh Torah
(Heb., ‘repetition of
Torah
’). A name for
Deuteronomy
; but more usually, the collective name for the code of
Maimonides
.
Mishpat ivri
(Heb., ‘Hebrew law’). That portion of the Jewish
halakhah
which parallels the legal systems of secular nations. According to Article 46 of the Israeli constitution, in the event of a lacuna in the existing law, Jewish sources of law must be explored, and thus the heritage of the Jewish legal tradition is preserved in a modern, largely secular, state.
Misl
(Arab., ‘alike’, ‘file’, ‘record’). Late 18th-cent. band of Sikh fighters. Traditionally twelve misls emerged in the mid-18th-cent., following the confusion after
Band
Si
gh's
death, to defend
Pañj
b
from Afghan attacks.
BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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