Lezing (Limud)

A Limud is a learning gathering, preferably having a Minjan, which can be organized at various occasions. Although we will, for convenience reasons, use the word Limud on this website, a Limud is called a “Lezing”, a Dutch word meaning “reading”. In some of the old booklets it is called a “Keri’ah”, the Hebrew word for “reading”.

There are two types of occasions to organize a “Lezing”:

	Private or life–cycle related Limud,
	Communal, or calendar related Limud.

Both types have the same structure: portions of Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim and a few Mishnayot are being recited. The texts of the Communal Limud are fixed. The texts of the private Limud are not. There are “default suggested texts”, but these can be adapted to specific situations when appropriate.

Originally, the Limud ended with texts taken from the Zohar. After Sabatai Zvi, these were, for obvious reasons, skipped. In recent printings the Zohar texts are omitted all together.

The Private Limud starts with an introduction and has connecting texts between the parts. The Communal Limud seems not to have had these, but it became custom to add them too, at least on 15 Shevat.

We have a Limud for the following occasions:

	Private or life-cycle related:     The evening before a Berit Milah,     On the evening of the 13th birthday of a Bar Mitzwah boy,     On the evening of the 12th birthday of a Bat Mitzwah girl,     The evening before a Chupah,    Chanukat haBayit, within 30 days of the dedication of a new home,     The evening of a special birthday of a male (e.g. 60, 70 or 80),    Meldadura on the yearly remembrance date of the death of a person (the “Yahrtzeit”),    Text of a special Limud which took place on the occasion of the 18th (חי) year of healing of author of this site from a life threatening disease.
	Communal, or calendar related:     The night of Hoshana Rabbah,     The night of 15 Shevat,     The night of 7th day Pesach,     The first night of Shavuot.
	Nevi’im during Limud are read with a special melody: example, list of neginot with basic musical notation by BC.

Until the 1990’s booklets for the Limud where almost not available, either because they did not exist, or because they were very rear. One would go to a Limud with a Tanach and Mishanyot. There were sheets showing what would be read and where to find (most of) the texts in the Tefillot, in case one didn’t bring his own books. Nowadays, for almost any Private Limud booklets are printed, usually adapted to the occasion. For the Communal Limud only the 15 Shevat booklet has been reprinted in 1974. The rest have been photocopied.
It is our custom to put candlesticks on the table, but leave one candle out, Zecher Lachurban, remembering the destruction.

             
       1793               1956 (*)           1960’s            1986 (**)              1990’s       Zecher Lachurban
(* this is from the bar mitzvah of the 2nd brother of JBS. ** The Limud for the 60th birthday was originally made for mr I.L Palache, born on 20-01-1926, thus his Limud was in January 1986. A copy was reused by mr. J Boosman in 2007)