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Keneset Yisrael

KENESET YISRAEL (Heb. כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל; "the community of Israel"), a phrase found frequently in rabbinic literature referring to the totality of the Jewish community. Largely identical with *kelal Yisrael, it is used as the personification of the Jewish community in its dialogue with the Almighty. In modern times this title was adopted by the official Jewish community in Ereẓ Israel when it was organized as a corporate entity in 1927 (see *Israel, State of: History 1880–1948). Keneset Yisrael was also the name of a literary and historical annual which appeared in Warsaw, 1886–88.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.