Nittel Nacht • the Open Siddur Project ✍ פְּרוֺיֶקְט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ

This is an archive of works composed for (or relevant to) Jewish customs for ניטל נאַכט (Nittel Nacht a/k/a Christmas Eve). The Yiddish word “Nittel” for Christmas is likely derived from the medieval Latin name for Christmas, natalis.
The origin of traditional folk customs (abstinence from sex and Torah study, consumption of garlic, card playing and other table games) observed in some Ashkenazi Jewish communities on Nittel Nacht is obscure. Often, some version of the following narrative of resistance is given: that in the Middle Ages under the hegemony of Christendom, Jews were often forbidden from appearing in public during the Christmas holidays, and Christmas Eve frequently marked the beginning of attacks on the Jewish population by Christians under the thrall of their religious passions and prejudices. Many Jews observed Nittel Nacht by adhering to these prohibitions and staying as safe as possible from marauders. To avoid giving the appearance of celebrating the Christian holiday, many also sought to avoid experiencing any pleasure or joy on Christmas, ensuring that no glory would be given to the day.
That explanation, however, was largely discounted by Marc Shapiro in his 1999 article, “Torah Study on Christmas Eve” (Journal of Jewish Thought & Philosophy, vol. 8, pp. 319-353). The origins of Nittel Nacht were further explored in Rebecca Scharbach’s article “The Ghost in the Privy: On the Origins of Nittel Nacht” (Jewish Studies Quarterly, vol. 20 (2013):4, pp. 340-373). Medieval Jews understood their Nittel Nacht customs as a form of ritual protection against some dark force abroad on Christmas Eve. From their European Christian peers, Jewish women and children heard tales of manifesting apparitions, such as Knecht Ruprecht, Krampus, Frau Perchta, and others (enacted by mummers at mid-winter pageants), sent to judge the relative goodliness of children, all ostensibly under the auspice of Jesus. The manifestation of demonic entities aligned with Jesus on the night of Christmas were then conflated in the form of a revenant Jesus, and framed within the lattice of enduring anti-Christian beliefs found in censored versions of the Talmud and Toldot Yeshu.
Click here to contribute a work you have prepared for Nittel Nacht.
Looking for something else?
For public readings prepared for (or relevant to) Asarah b’Tevet, visit here.
For prayers for Asarah b’Tevet, visit here.
For prayers relevant to Tequfat Tevet (the Solstice of the month of Tevet), visit here.
For prayers offered for the well-being of one’s congregation and community, visit here.
For prayers composed for social justice, peace, and liberty, go here.

חרוז על שחוק האישקקי | Rhymed Poem on Chess (short), by Avraham ibn Ezra (HS. Vatican 171 f.2, oben S. 180)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Nina Davis Salaman (translation) and Avraham ibn Ezra

A medieval Jewish poem on the game of Chess by Avraham ibn Ezra.. . . .

חֲרוּזִים עַל שְּׂחוֹק שָׁ״הּ־מָ״תּ | Rhymed Poem on Chess (long), by Avraham ibn Ezra (ca. 12th c.)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Nina Davis Salaman (translation), Thomas Hyde (Latin translation) and Avraham ibn Ezra

A poem on how to play chess, one of the oldest historical descriptions of the game of Chess, by Avraham ibn Ezra (12th century) . . .

💬 ספר תולדות ישו, לפי נוסח שטרסבורג | The Book of the Generations of Yeshu, according to the Strasbourg Variant, cantillated and vocalized by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown Author(s)

One of many variants of this notorious work, the Sefer Toldot Yeshu is an irreverent retelling? a bitter deconstruction? a mocking parody? of the Christian narrative of the birth, life, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Taking its general structure from the gospels, it coöpts and alters it to make the main character look like a petty, vindictive sorcerer, his disciples into either sectarian liars or loyal rabbinic plants, and his followers into easily duped fools. Toldot Yeshu was a very popular work in medieval times, and you can tell — this sort of a text was certainly written by someone whose primary relationship with Christians was fear. It’s the bitter invective of an oppressed people without power for themselves, the dirty laundry that two thousand years of murder leaves behind. It’s also, just, like unspeakably, hilariously crude. Have a garlicky Nittel, everyone! . . .

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=4637

Associated Image:

"The Abtenauer Perchtenlauf 2017- 13" (Holger Uwe Schmitt CC BY-SA)

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category pages and in shared links on social media.)

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute any information in the description of this archive page to the Open Siddur Project (<https://opensiddur.org>).
Clearly indicate the date you accessed this page and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this archive: <https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=4637>.
Indicate that the original page was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this page in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the CC BY-SA license.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed on this page and in these shared works represents the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of contributors, patrons, or institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture. If you like what you've found here, please help keep our project alive and online with your financial contribution.

ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17