Source
The source for the requirement of minyan is recorded in the Talmud. The word minyan itself comes from the Hebrew root maneh מנה meaning to count or to number. The word is related to the Aramaic word mene, numbered, appearing in the writing on the wall in Daniel 5:25.
Babylonian Talmud
The Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 23b) derives the requirement of a minyan of ten for Kiddush Hashem and Devarim she-Bikdusha, "matters of sanctity", by combining three scriptural verses using the rule of gezerah shavah:
The word "midst" in the verse:
- "And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel"
also appears in the verse:
- "Separate yourselves from the midst of the congregation"
The term "congregation" is also used in another verse that describes the ten spies who brought back a negative report of the Land of Israel:
- "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me?"
From this combination, the Talmud concludes that "sanctification" should occur in the "midst" of a "congregation" of ten.
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 4:4) offers two sources for the requirement, also using a gezerah shavah:
The word "congregation" in the verse:
- "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy"
is also used in another verse:
- "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me?"
Since the term "congregation" in the later verse refers to the ten spies, so too in the former verse: "You shall be holy" refers to a "congregation" of ten.
The second source is based on the term "children of Israel" which appears in the following two verses:
- "And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel"
- " And the children of Israel came to buy among those that came"
Just as the "children of Israel" in the later verse refers to the ten sons of Jacob who descended to Egypt to obtain food during the famine, so too the former verse refers to sanctification among the “children of Israel” in the presence of ten.
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