Judaism

What did we learn last time? That the movement towards monotheism was a slow process for the Hebrews. The Temple cult played the primary role in the life of the Hebrews. The Hebrews were influenced by the religious ideas of the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians. The Hebrews gave us our sense of linear time. The prophetic tradition was one of the most important developments in the religion. The synagogue was born out of the Babylonian captivity.

Other Important Developments The concept of sin. Covenant – Special agreement between God and the people of Israel. There are three covenants : Abraham, Moses, David.

Ancient Hebrew Modern Day Judaism

The end of the Temple cult is the most significant difference between the two systems. What has replaced the centralizing practices of the Temple?

The Rabbinical tradition and the Synagogue. It is around this institution that modern day Judaism will form. The importance of the Temple is not forgotten – its rituals will be reinterpreted to fit the new situation. Two “Houses” replace the Temple – the House. The two Houses are the House of Study and the House of Prayer.

The House of Prayer The House of Prayer becomes the ‘service’ which replaces the service of the old Temple sacrifices. Prayer becomes a service of the heart which is modeled on the service structure of the Temple. “Be favorable, O Lord our god, towards Your people Israel and their prayer. Restore the Service to the Shrine of Your House, and lovingly accept the prayer of Israel. May the service of your people be always favorable before You.”

The House of Study

The end of the Temple system left the Torah to fill the gap. The academy of scholars became the new Temple and the scholar became a kind of surrogate priesthood. The art of interpreting the Torah is known as midrash. The interpretation of the Torah to create new rules to fit changing situations is known as halakha. The legal work within Jewish thought is Mishnah which is divided into six sections: Seeds, Feasts, Women, Damages, Holy Matters and Purities.

The Talmuds

There are two Talumds – the Babylonian and the Jerusalem. The Babylonian is the major one – after the Diaspora Babylon became the center of Jewish scholarship.

Both Talmuds draw practical and theoretical implications of the Minshnah and try to harmonize contradictory commandments (e.g. not doing work on the Sabbath and preserving human life). The Talmuds provide expansive rules for various situations which could affect how one pays attention to the six sections. What the Rabbis have done is to put ‘fences’ around the laws/guidelines found in the Torah. By building a fence around the law/guideline one can protect oneself from disobeying the Torah.

The Messiah Means “anointed one”, same as christ in Greek. There is no one set interpretation of the Messiah. Some Jews in a political interpretation of this figure. Others take a more social view, where there will be a Messianic Age where everyone lives righteously. Still others believe the Messianic Age will only be possible in another world.

What about the afterlife? The early Hebrew writings are silent when it comes to the afterlife. Many scholars believe that the early Hebrews did not have a concept of the afterlife. An afterlife and an immortal soul are really the products of Greek thinking. So most discussion about an afterlife in Jewish thought occurs after their contact with the Greek world. A possible explanation for this is that the Hebrews just could not imagine a spirit (wind in Hebrew) without a corresponding body. Unlike the Greeks who very much wanted to get rid of their body and become pure spirit.

Apocalyptic Literature Books like Daniel At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others appeared, one standing on this bank of the stream and one on the other. One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was upstream, “How long shall it be until the end of these wonders?” The man clothed in linen, who was upstream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven. And I heard him swear by the one who lives forever that it would be for a time, two times and a half, and that when the shattering of the power of t he holy people comes to an end, all these things would be accomplished. Daniel 12: 1-7