?AVER IR or ?ever Ir

?AVER IR or ?ever Ir (Heb. ????? ???? ;????? ????), a phrase whose exact vocalization and therefore meaning is uncertain. If the reading is ?aver ir (lit. "an associate of the city"), it refers to an individual; if it is ?ever ir (lit. "a town association") the reference is to a specific association or organization. The latter reading could also imply a congregation or the religious quorum (minyan) required for public worship. The Mishnah (Ber. 4:7) records a difference of opinion as to whether the individual may himself recite the Musaf prayers or whether they may only be said publicly by the ?ever ir. In this context the phrase seems to mean a minyan. A similar conclusion is reached from the discussion concerning the differences between the order of the sounding of the shofar during private worship and public ?ever ir (rh 34b).

The rules regarding deportment at a funeral and in a house of mourning seem to indicate that the phrase refers to a specific communal fraternal society. The ?ever ir must participate in a man's funeral but not a woman's (Sem. 11:2). Neither was the ?ever ir obligated to extend condolences on the day that people gather the bones of relatives for reburial in ossuaries (Sem. 12:4). When the ?ever ir was present at the house of mourning, visitors were permitted to bring less costly food, since there were then many people to be fed (?ul. 94a; Sem. 14:13). In Jerusalem, there originally were ?avurot ("associations") for participating in joyful events such as marriage and circumcision and in gathering the remains of the dead and comforting mourners (Tosef. Meg. 4 (3):15; Sem. 12:5). It may be that these ?avurot were the precursors of the ?ever ir, or that they functioned together with it. They differed in that the ?avurot were voluntary organizations whereas the ?ever ir was officially appointed by the townspeople as their representatives in performing these meritorious deeds.

Nevertheless, there are also instances where ?aver ir seems to be the correct reading. After transient visitors to a town are assessed for charity, they may demand reimbursement for distribution to the poor in their own communities before their departure. However, when a ?aver ir is in charge of the communal charity, no refund is granted and the ?ever ir uses it at his discretion (Meg. 25a–b, Rashi ad loc.). Likewise, the poor man's tithe could be given to the ?aver ir who used it at his discretion (Tosef., Pe'ah 4:16). A kohen who had a disqualifying blemish was not permitted to utter the Priestly Benediction publicly, since the people would be distracted by it. If he is also a ?aver ir, however, he may recite the benediction, since he is so well known that they will pay no attention to his disability (Tosef., Meg. 4 (3):29).

bibliography:

Geiger, Mikra; T. Horowitz, in: Festschriftzum Geburstage Jacob Guttmanns (1915), 125–42; idem, in: jjlg, 17 (1926), 241–314; S. Krauss, ibid., 125–42; S. Ginsburg, Perushim ve-Hiddushim ba-Yerushalmi, 3 (1941), 410–32; S. Lieberman, Tosefta ki-Feshuta, 1 (1955), 190.

[Harry Freedman]