A chumra (Hebrew: חומרה; pl. חומרות chumrot; alternative transliteration: khumra) is a prohibition or obligation in Jewish practice that exceeds the bare requirements of Halakha (Jewish law). One who imposes a chumra on oneself in a given instance is said to be machmir (מחמיר).
An obligation or prohibition can be adopted by an individual or an entire community. Early references to chumrot are found in the Talmud, and the understanding and application of them has changed over time.
After a chumra has been observed for generations, it can become a minhag, or accepted tradition, and become a binding requirement for individuals from families or communities that adopted the chumra.
One form of chumra is a precaution to help avoid transgressing the Halakha, or else a way of keeping those who have taken on the stringency separate from those who have not.
This follows the Mishnah's recommendation for Torah scholars to "make a fence around the Torah",[1] which the rabbis considered to be hinted to by Leviticus 18:30.[2] Nevertheless, one must be clear that such safeguards are of rabbinic origin, and not Torah requirements themselves.[3]
A second meaning of chumra is simply "a stricter interpretation of a Jewish law (Halakha), when two or more interpretations exist".
Those who adopt such a stringency do not feel they are adding to the halakha. Rather, they think they are following the baseline requirement (if the strict interpretation is correct) or at least "covering their bases" (if it is impossible to determine whether the strict or lenient opinion is correct). Nevertheless, such stringency may be seen as adding to halacha by someone who believes the lenient interpretation (qulla) is correct.
In many cases, a rule followed by the majority (or even totality) of halakha-observant Jews today is a stringency in comparison with more lenient rabbinic opinions which have existed in the past or even today.[4]
Some individuals may adopt strict practices, despite knowing that the practices are not required and are not necessary to avoid transgression, because they believe these practices have spiritual or devotional value. This approach is associated with Nahmanides, who argued that one should behave this way as a matter of course, avoiding excessive physicality even when apparently within the bounds of the law, as a means of achieving holiness.[5]
Adopting a chumra is not necessarily considered a positive thing in Judaism. Adopting an unnecessary chumrah can lead to the following negative consequences:[6]
For these reasons, the Talmud and other sources discouraged many types of chumra.[6]