I've been studying the DSS for many many years now; but somehow this very important word has eluded me. As I didn't know what it meant; I looked for a definition; to which I found a very nce summary of some key points regarding this group:
Origin and Organization
The origins of the
yaḥad appear to be described in the
*Damascus Document, which suggests a number of stages (1:3–12). First, a remnant of Israel was allowed by God to survive the Babylonian exile; then these were "visited" by God and a "seedling" (
shoresh matta'at) sprouted "to possess the land." After 20 years of "groping the way," God raised for them a
"*Teacher of Righteousness" to "guide them in the way of his heart." It is this last stage, under the leadership of the "Teacher," that in the opinion of most scholars accords with the formation of the
yaḥad. The earlier stages appear to represent a wider movement that, after the emergence of the
yaḥad, no doubt continued, since the Damascus Document (1:13–2:1) suggests that the Teacher's appearance generated conflict with a group led by the "Spouter of Lies" – presumably a polemical reference to a rival leader within the existing group. The death of the
moreh ha-yaḥid (perhaps to be emended to
moreh hayaḥad) is mentioned in cd 20:14. In the Habakkuk
*pesher, no doubt a product of the
yaḥad, the "Liar" is mentioned also, though the Teacher is opposed mainly by a "Wicked Priest," a figure thought to be a national leader but absent from the Damascus Document. Because of this and other discrepancies between the accounts, it is impossible to decide why the
yaḥad came into existence. Broadly speaking, two possibilities exist: that it consisted originally of the followers of a "Teacher" who split with the leadership of an existing movement; or that the Teacher was the founder of a new movement that separated from the rest of Judaism and later assumed different forms, including the
yaḥad. On the former view, inner-sectarian motives may have been instrumental in the formation of the
yaḥad – such as the Teacher's claim to be an eschatological leader (see cd 6:11), in which case the existing movement arose for reasons (such as differences over calendar and purity laws) that the
yaḥad inherited in addition to its own distinct ideology. On the latter view, the
yaḥad is more probably a penitential movement, reacting to the conviction that divine anger was about to befall Israel. Further possible clues might lie in the
*Thanksgiving Hymns (
Hodayot), if they could be read autobiographically as compositions of the Teacher, for they represent the author as the persecuted founder of a community, articulating a profound belief in his existential, and probably eschatological, redemption and fellowship with the heavenly beings. The Community Rule itself does not mention the teacher, but contains passages (cols. 8–9) that in the opinion of many scholars, represent the original aims and organization of the
yaḥad. On this view, a nucleus of 15 men – three priests and 12 laymen – formed its core. Among the convictions held in these passages is that the land cannot be atoned for by the existing sacrificial cult, which is corrupt; instead a human sanctuary, containing an inner, priestly "holy of holies" must fulfill this function, without sacrifice, by living lives of utter holiness. To this end the members were to segregate from the "sinful" and make a "way in the wilderness" (Isa. 40:3) in order to study the law. This is often interpreted as entailing a physical withdrawal to the Judean Desert, to the west shore of the Dead Sea.
YAḤADYAḤAD (Heb. יַחַד; "union" or "unity"). This term is used in the Bible most often adverbially in the sense of "together." In some of the *Dead Sea Scrolls it appears as a designation of the group usually identified as the *Qumran sect or community. Source for information on Yaḥad...
www.encyclopedia.com
There is much more to this article; and it adds to the pool of information on this subject. I need to remember this word.
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