The Fall of Jericho, Pietro Aquila, after Rafaël, 1675 (adapted). Rijksmuseum
Obliterating Cherem
The Torah describes a practice of declaring people cherem, which means that the person, and—in some cases—his family, would be annihilated, and his possessions donated to the Temple. The rabbis were unhappy with this law and used their homiletical approach to “obliterate” it.
Published: May 14, 2015
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Last Updated: October 28, 2026
There is an earlier but much briefer cherem narrative: the destruction of Arad in Num 21:1-3.
ויאמר. לי. כמש. אחז. את. נבה. על. ישראל ואהלכ. הללה. ולתחמ. בה. מבקע. השחרת. הצהרמ. ואחזה. ואהרג. כלה. שבעת. אלפנ. גברנ. ו[גר]נ וגברת. וגרת. ורחמת כי. לעשתר. כמש. החרמתה
The words ‘you will not be able’ [לא תוכל] are put into the mouth of the deity, implying that not even God can defycherem’s absolute potency. It may be that v. 12 was added later to soften this extreme position, as it describes God as refusing to help them, as opposed to unable. Nevertheless, even that verse implies some sort of independent force for cherem, since “they were unable” [לא יוכלו] signifies inevitability.
Scholars debate to what extent cherem approximates ‘taboo.’ In his monograph on the cherem, Philip Stern writes:
“The herem has been labeled a taboo partly because of its association with danger. But two [of the terms] integral to taboo are lacking any counterpart in biblical language and thought. [Also] the supposed contagious nature of the herem is not all that similar to the contagion of taboo. For instance, no one had any fear of touching the banned objects which Achan stole.”
Philip D. Stern, The Biblical Herem: A Window on Israel’s Religious Experience (Brown Judaica Studies 211; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991), pp.224-225.
The kernel of the Achan story may even be pre-Deuteronomic; mark the aetiology of the name of the valley, “Akhor” (sullied), since Achan “sullied” it with his theft from the cherem.
כָּל־חֵ֥רֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְךָ֥ יִהְיֶֽה:
See my, Destination Torah: Reflections on the Weekly Torah Portions (Hoboken: Ktav, 2001), 199-202.
Superstition is surely ipso facto irreconcilable with true monotheism. The concept of “cannot be redeemed [לא יפדה], while not as extreme as the לא יוכלו of Joshua discussed above (fn 3), is still a relic of monolatry.
He replaced his foreskin to look uncircumcised.
The monetary ‘valuations’ for humans according to age and gender (‘erekh – plural: ‘arakheen) are tabulated at Lev 27: 2-8.
“If the ox had for some time past been goring and the owner was warned but did not guard it and it then killed a man or a woman the ox shall be stoned and the owner put to death. If, however, a money ransom be imposed upon him.….” (Exod 21:29-30)
B. Arakh. 6b; Sifra to Lev 27:29, Rashi ad loc.
See b. Bava Batra 10a.
