Neilah

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Pronunciations

Neilah (neh-ee-LAH)
Neilah (nuh-EE-luh) listen

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Definitions

Example Sentences

  • "During Ne'ila you just don't want to think about anything except life and death..." (Glinert)

  • "However, the special piyyutim written for this service favor the idea that Neilah reflects the more spiritual concept of the closing of the gates of Heaven, which have been kept open to receive our final prayers and supplications." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH נעילה 'lit. closing' > Y נעילה neile

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

      Alternative Spellings

      Neila, Ne'ila, Ne'ilah, Neileh, Neile, Ne'ileh, Ne'ile

Notes

  • Tradition says that this is the time when God is making the final decision about who has found forgiveness through repentance, charity, and prayer, and who has not. The shutting or locking refers to the image of the “gates of redemption and forgiveness,” which are mentioned in the prayer. During the Neilah service, one is supposed to pray with particular attention and intensity (kavanah), in hope that prayers reach God before the gates are closed and Yom Kippur comes to an end.

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