Zidqa brikha

In Mandaeism, the zidqa brikha (or zidqa brika; Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡉࡃࡒࡀ ࡁࡓࡉࡊࡀ, lit. 'blessed oblation') is a type of ritual meal blessed by Mandaean priests.^[1]^[2] Zidqa means oblation and can also mean alms, while brikha means blessed.^[3] Unlike the lofani, which is a minor ritual meal does not require the presence of a priest, the zidqa brikha needs to be prepared by a priest.^[4]^: 232

The zidqa brikha is offered and eaten at the end of tarmida (junior priest) initiation ceremonies, after the novice's 60-day seclusion period.^[1] It is also offered at weddings^[5] and during the Parwanaya festival.^[6]

It is distinct from the lofani and dukrana, which are two other types of ritual meal offered for the dead.^[3]

Prayers

In E. S. Drower's version of the Qulasta, prayers 348–374 are for the zidqa brikha. Prayers 375–381 are blessings recited after the zidqa brikha.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
^ Segelberg, Eric. 1977. "Zidqa Brika and the Mandæan Problem. In Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Gnosticism. Ed. Geo Widengren and David Hellholm. Stockholm.
^ ^a ^b Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
^ Drower, E. S. (1956). Water into wine: a study of ritual idiom in the Middle East. London: John Murray.
^ Häberl, Charles (2022). The Book of Kings and the Explanations of This World: A Universal History from the Late Sasanian Empire. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-80085-627-1.
^ Burtea, Bogdan (2005). Das mandäische Fest der Schalttage: Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentierung der Handschrift (DC 24, Šarh ḏ-paruanaiia) (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-05179-8. OCLC 62273841.
^ Drower, E. S. (1959). The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: E. J. Brill.