Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 16, 2023

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Jewish honorific denoting exceptionally pious persons

asd (Hebrew: , "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural

The Hebrew word asd appears for the first time in the Torah (Deuteronomy 33:8) with respect to the tribe of Levi, and all throughout the Hebrew Book of Psalms, with its various declensions.[2] In classic rabbinic literature it differs from "Tzadik" ("righteous") by instead denoting one who goes beyond his ordinary duty. The literal meaning of asd derives from Chesed (

Rabbi Saadia Gaon, the medieval Hebrew linguist and biblical exegete, translated the Hebrew word asd in Psalm 18:26 into the Judeo-Arabic word

As a personal honorific, both "asd" and "Tzadik" could be applied independently to the same individual with both different qualities. The 18th-century Vilna Gaon, for instance, at that time the chief opponent of the new Jewish mystical movement that became known as "Hasidism", was renowned for his righteous life. In tribute to his scholarship, he became popularly honored with the formal title of "Genius", while amongst the Hasidic movement's leadership, despite his fierce opposition to their legalistic tendencies, he was respectfully referred to as "The Gaon, the asd from Vilna".

A general dictum in the Talmud (Baba Kama 30a) states: "He that wishes to be pious (Aramaic: asda), let him uphold the things described under the indemnity laws in the Mishnaic Order of Neziqin." Rava, differing, said: "Let him observe the things transcribed in Pirkei Avot." (ibid.)

Of the few known pious men in the early 2nd century, the Talmud acknowledges the following: "Wherever we read (in Talmudic writings), 'It is reported of a pious man', either R. Juda b. Baba it meant or R. Judah, the son of R. Ilai."[4]

In the aggregate, "asd" may also refer to members of any of the following Jewish movements:

Continued here:

Hasid - Wikipedia

Category: Hasidic
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