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ein kerem
b. Abraham ha-Rofe, Shibbolei ha-Leket (1966), 131f.). In the
Genizah fragments, where the stanzas are in a different order
from the present text, the hymn is followed immediately by a
quotation from Psalms 90:1, which suggests that it may have
been recited at the termination of the Sabbath.
Bibliography: Davidson, Oẓar, 1 (1929), 142; Eisenstein,
Dinim, 14f.; Abrahams, Companion, clxvi–clxvii; Sendrey, Music,
2306. 2587–92.
[Meir Ydit]
EIN KEREM (Heb. םרֶ ֶּכ
ןיע), ֵ village on the western edge of
Jerusalem, identified with biblical *Beth-Cherem; since 1949
part of the Jerusalem municipality. Early Christian tradition
dating back to the sixth century identifies Ein Kerem as the
birthplace of *John the Baptist in the house of Zacharias (domum
Zachariae, Luke 1:40) and with the location of the visit
paid to Elizabeth, John’s mother, by her relative (συγγενίς)
Mary, Jesus’ mother (Luke 1:39–80). Theodosius (c. 530 C.E.)
referred to the “dwelling place of Saint Elizabeth” about 5 miles
from Jerusalem, and Procopius of Caesarea (550–58 C.E.)
speaks of a well situated at the “Monastery of Holy Zacharias
[father of John the Baptist].” In the seventh century, Epiphanius
referred to Ein Kerem (garbled to “Carmel”) as the family
home of the forerunner (i.e., John the Baptist). References
to “Encharim” also exist in the Georgian Lectionary (eighth
century), in the Commemoratorium de Casis Dei (c. 808 C.E.),
and in a work by Eutychius (tenth century). There are two
churches associated with John the Baptist at Ein Kerem today:
the Church of the Nativity of John on the northern hill
and the Church of the Visitation on the southern hill. Outside
the village is the Monastery of John in the Wilderness (Ein
el-Habis). Numerous medieval and later travelers refer to Ein
Kerem and its churches. The Franciscans established their first
church in 1621, and after 1674 the Franciscan presence in the
village became permanent.
The Franciscans remained the only Christians in Ein
Kerem until the middle of the 19th century. In 1860 the Sisters
of Our Lady of Zion settled in the village, followed by
the nuns of the Russian Orthodox Church (1871), the White
Fathers (1882), the Greek Orthodox Church (1894), and the
Rosary Sisters (1911). A mosque (maqam ’umair) and minaret
was built over the spring which gave the village its name.
During the Israel War of Independence (1948) the inhabitants
of the village – until then all Moslem Arabs – fled and were
replaced by new immigrants mostly from Oriental countries.
In 1949 Raḥel Yannait *Ben-Zvi brought the training school
(after 1952 the Ein Kerem Agricultural School), of which she
was director, from Talpiyyot in Jerusalem to Ein Kerem. In the
1950s and 1960s many Israeli artists (such as Yitzhak Greenfield)
and academics settled in the village. Many of its residents
offer guest accommodations to vacationers attracted by
the rural setting.
Add. Bibliography: P.F. Cangioli, Il Santuario e Il Convento
di S. Giovanni in ‘Ain-Karem (1947); M.T. Petrozzi, Ain Karim (1971);
S. Gibson, The Cave of John the Baptist (2004), 26–43; M. Amirav,
D. Harel, and B. Binnun, Ein-Kerem: Voyage to the Enchanted Village
(2004).
[Walter Zanger / Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.)]
EIN SHEMER (Heb. רֶמֶׁ ש ןיע), ֵ kibbutz in central Israel, near
the entrance to the Iron Valley. Affiliated with Kibbutz Arẓi
ha-Shomer ha-Ẓa’ir, the site served as a camp for the *Ha-
Shomer association before World War I. After 1918 a laborers’
camp was opened there, which was taken over by a group
of *Ha-Shomer ha-Ẓa’ir members in 1924. The permanent
settlement was established in 1927. The kibbutz has intensive
farming, with field crops, avocado plantations, poultry, and
dairy cattle, and maintained several manufacturing enterprises
(food, plastics, and rubber). The kibbutz operates the
Old Courtyard on its premises, a theme museum showing life
in the traditional kibbutz. In 1968 Ein Shemer had 545 inhabitants,
increasing to 605 in the mid-1990s and 758 in 2002. The
name refers to Ha-Shomer and to Ha-Shomer ha-Ẓa’ir as well
as to the nearby Samaria (Shomron) Hill.
Website: www.courtyard.co.il.
[Efraim Orni / Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.)]
EIN-SOF (Heb. ףֹ וס ןיא; ֵ “The Infinite,” lit. that which is boundless),
name given in Kabbalah to God transcendent, in His
pure essence: God in Himself, apart from His relationship to
the created world. Since every name which was given to God
referred to one of the characteristics or attributes by which
He revealed Himself to His creatures, or which they ascribed
to Him, there is no name or epithet for God from the point
of view of His own being. Consequently, when the kabbalists
wanted to be precise in their language they abstained from using
names like Elohim, the Tetragrammaton, “the Holy One,
blessed be He,” and others. These names are all found either in
the Written or the Oral Law. The Torah, however, refers only
to God’s manifestations and not to God’s own being which
is above and beyond His relationship to the created world.
Therefore, neither in the Bible, nor in rabbinic tradition was
there a term which could fulfill the need of the kabbalists in
their speculations on the nature of God. “Know that Ein-Sof
is not alluded to either in the Pentateuch, the Prophets, or the
Hagiographa, nor in the writings of the rabbis. But the mystics
had a vague tradition about it” (Sefer Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut).
The term Ein-Sof is found in kabbalistic literature after 1200.
However, it was apparently not coined as a technical term
since this was not the style in which, in the medieval period,
negative terms were coined. Most probably its source is to be
found in those phrases stressing God’s sublimity which is infinite
(ad le-ein sof ), or which emphasize the characteristics of
the (Divine) thought, comprehension of which “has no end”
(ad le-ein sof ). The use of this epithet in early kabbalistic literature
proved without doubt that the term grew out of this
kind of expression. It originated, apparently, in the circle of
*Isaac the Blind, and his disciples. In the view of some kabbalists,
the name Ein-Sof was likewise applicable to the first
product of emanation, the Sefirah Keter, because of its com-
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