The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1403 page)

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Authors: John Bowker

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Ma‘amad
,
mahamad
(Heb., ‘stand’). Jewish
Sephardi
community leader, the equivalent of the
Ashkenazi
kahal
. Derived from the orders of priestly duties, they took decisions which were binding on those affected.
Ma‘amad har Sinai
(revelation on Mount Sinai):
Ma‘aravot
.
A series of
piyyutim
(liturgical poems) which are added to the Jewish
ma‘ariv
service on
festivals
.
Ma‘arekhet ha-Elohut
(Heb., ‘The Order of God’). A Jewish
kabbalistic book
. It was written in about the late 13th cent. and is of unknown authorship. It is an attempt to present the teachings of the kabbalah systematically.
Ma‘ariv
(Heb., ‘he [God] who causes the evening to come’). The Jewish order of evening
prayer
. The service, which requires a
minyan
, includes the
Shema
‘ and the
‘Amidah
.
Ma‘aseh
(Heb., ‘story’). A Jewish legal source. A ma‘aseh is a particular factual circumstance, such as a legal judgement or a specific act of an established
halakhic
scholar. Because ‘what has been done is no longer open to discussion’ (
BRH
29b), halakhah derived from a ma‘aseh has particular force.
Ma‘aseh Bereshit
(Heb., ‘work of creation’). Jewish mystical exploration of creation and of the power of the Word of God and of language. So great was the power released that instruction in this mysticism was restricted to individuals who had attained earlier levels of experience. See also
HEKHALOT AND MERKABAH
.

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