What is "melamed"

Melamed, Melammed (, Teacher) is a term which in Biblical times denoted a religious teacher or instructor in general (e.g., in Ps. cxix. 99 and Prov. v. 13), but which in the Talmudic period was applied especially to a teacher of children, and was almost invariably followed by the word "tinokot" (children; B. B. 21a). The Aramean equivalent was "makre dardeke" (ib.).

The melamed was appointed by the community, and there were special regulations determining how many children he might teach, as well as rules governing the choice of applicants for the office and the dismissal of a melamed (ib.). These regulations were extended and augmented in the post-Talmudic period.

Melamed is a Hebrew surname. It translates to " teacher" from the Hebrew language and came into different languages in different spellings.

Some variants of the spelling should not be confused with " Malamute" or " Malemute".

Those with the surname include:

• Abraham Melamed, former member of Knesset from National Religious Party
• Douglas Melamed, one of the founding fathers of law & economics
• Fred Melamed, U.S actor and writer
• Guy Melamed, an Israeli soccer defender
• Leo Melamed, a former chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and a longtime executive in the field of global derivatives
• Rabbi Meir Melamed, financier to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in the house of Arbarbanel during the Jewish Inquisition in 1492.
• S. M. Melamed, author of the " Yiddish Stage"
• Vince Melamed, an American keyboardist and songwriter
• Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, the rosh yeshiva of the Beit El yeshiva in Beit El

Category:Jewish surnames