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RABBINIC JUDAISM.   Term Paper ID:23598 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines role of written & oral Torah in tradition's evolution, major tenets, messianic-priestly synthesis, destruction of Temple, Diaspora.... More...

6 Pages / 1350 Words 6 sources, 16 Citations, MLA Format $24.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Examines role of written & oral Torah in tradition's evolution, major tenets, messianic-priestly synthesis, destruction of Temple, Diaspora. Paper Introduction: The central conception that distinguishes Rabbinic Judaism from all other forms of Judaism is the belief that Moses received a dual revelation, a written Torah and an oral Torah. Those who first revived this ancient idea did so in opposition to the heirs of the Aaronic priestly tradition who were committed solely to the perpetuation of written law and the traditional cult. Yet by the end of its formative period (c. 600 CE) Rabbinic Judaism consisted of a synthesis of the messianic and priestly traditions. The development of the major strains that were later reconciled took place over the first two centuries of the common era. On the one hand, there was the small group who developed the Mishnah, "the systematic expression of the priestly viewpoint," (Neusner, Rabbinic 72). On the other, were the successors of the Pharisees who perpetuated the tradition of the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 199 .Neusner, Jacob. The development ofthe synagogue ideal had also contributed to the communality that wasessential in the Diaspora. After the destruction of the Temple there had still been hope for itsrestoration. New York: Macmillan, 1989. WORKS CITEDCohen, Stuart A. They continued to live as if the Templestill existed and as if "there were a new Temple composed of the Jewishpeople" (Neusner, Major 17). Throughout the formative period of Rabbinic Judaism the Jews livedprimarily under Roman or Byzantine rule in Erets Yisra'el (Palestine) or inBavel (Babylon) under, successively, the Parthians, Sasanids, and Muslims.This general displacement and lack of self-rule significantly increased theappeal of early rabbinism. Later, following the disastrous BarKokhba revolt, the persecutions of Hadrian and the expulsion of the Jewsfrom Jerusalem (137-138 CE), added force to early rabbinism as its tenetsprovided a means of organizing the dispersed community. The study of Torah was combined in earlyrabbinism with the observance of the Temple laws in everyday life and thecombination proved to be capable of filling the Jewish communities' needfor forms that were not dependent on their presence in Erets Yisra'el or onthe presence of priests. Brown Judaic Studies. As wars, persecutions, displacement and internal power strugglescharacterized Jewish life, the Pharisaic-Rabbinic response to theseconditions was not the only one being formulated. In response to theturmoil many of those who specifically blamed messianism for much of thetrouble "prepared once and for all to transcend historical events and taketheir leave of wars and rumors of wars, of politics and public life"(Neusner, Major 16). . The Pharisees' earlier development of the institution of the synagogue wasof vital importance in this regard as well. The rabbis actively pursued the goal of producinga unified people among the exiled Jews and the Pharisaic notions ofreligious observance provided them with a means of filling the space leftby the destruction of the Temple. The development of the major strains that were laterreconciled took place over the first two centuries of the common era. Those who first revived this ancientidea did so in opposition to the heirs of the Aaronic priestly traditionwho were committed solely to the perpetuation of written law and thetraditional cult. 91. Theneed to reassert these messianic concerns completed a circle. They wanted to focus attention on ordinary daily lifeand promoted an "interest in enduring and ahistorical natural life"(Neusner, Rabbinic 72). The revival of the oral tradition was brought about by the Phariseeswho emerged to prominence at the time of the Hasmonean Revolt (166-142BCE). Onthe one hand, there was the small group who developed the Mishnah, "thesystematic expression of the priestly viewpoint," (Neusner, Rabbinic 72).On the other, were the successors of the Pharisees who perpetuated thetradition of the dual Torah and the rabbinical system of leadership,teaching, and the interpretation of Torah. Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity. By making "regulations which had previously beenof immediate and practical relevance to a limited sect . Second,the rule of Israel by its long line of kings and priests was ended andtheir place could only be filled by those who had no standing in anyhereditary tradition of this sort. What resulted was the unification ofthese far-flung communities in "their shared fidelity to the rabbinicdefinitions of law" and the rabbis' assumption of "positions of -- in somecases undivided -- communal authority throughout the Jewish world" (Cohen2). The Pharisees'consolidation of their influence was the direct result of the destructionof the Temple in 7 CE. Neusner describesthis as their "as-if" notion "of how to live and interpret life" (Major17). Insteadthey had long held that it was important to follow the same laws ineveryday life that the priests followed in the Temple. Seltzer. The central conception that distinguishes Rabbinic Judaism from allother forms of Judaism is the belief that Moses received a dual revelation,a written Torah and an oral Torah. Major Trends in Formative Judaism, Third Series, The Three Stages in the Formation of Judaism. Second, Pharisaic rabbinism linked"personal salvation" to the "internalization" of the dual Torah andpromised eternal life and resurrection to those who did so (Rivkin 66).The emphasis on the individual's study of Torah, attributed by some to theinfluence of the scribes rather than the Pharisees, was important becauseon the basis of this idea later rabbinism was "able to construct anexpression of piety which did not depend upon the Temple at all" (Neusner,Early 65). They favored the search foreternity in the present and wished to form a society "capable of abidingamid change and stress" (Neusner, Major 16). 99. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985.---. As Neusnersays, the messianic thesis produced its antimessianic antithesis in theMishnah and the synthesis performed by the rabbis in the years between 2 and 6 consolidated them into "the one 'whole Torah' of Moses," therebyfulfilling the myth of the dual revelation of Torah (Neusner, Rabbinic 83). Yet by the end of its formative period (c. Robert M. Ed. 65-71. The Mishnah stood apart fromthe concerns of those who had a messianic interest in the meaning ofhistory and it ignored the tradition of proof-texts from scripture -- inboth respects, rejection of messianism and seeming rejection of Torah --the Mishnah would prove unacceptable to the rabbis. . J. Thus "the real work of framing asystem in response to the final end of a thousand-year-old mode of socialorganization fell upon the survivors after 135" (Neusner, Formative 24).There were two factors to which the rabbis had to respond in order to be ina position to direct the construction of a new system. This approach to life and observance prepared the Pharisees for thedestruction of the Temple in 7 . Fourth, the idea of personal salvation also freed the individual fromthe need for intermediaries such as priest or prophet and "made it possiblefor Judaism not only to flourish in the Diaspora but to establish centersthere that" were more influential than those in Erets Yisra'el (Rivkin 69). applicable tothe entire nation" the early rabbis managed to supply this need whileconsolidating their own leadership and authority (Cohen 14 ). The tenets of the early rabbinism had special appeal to the Jews whowere largely unable to control their own political destiny among otherpeoples and were in need of an interpretation of religious duty andobservance that was suited to their living apart from one another and awayfrom Erets Yisra'el. 13. 72-84.Rivkin, Ellis. The third point addresses this same problem. The Pharisaic-RabbinicJudaism of the period following 7 CE placed great emphasis on the(temporary) replacement of the cult of the destroyed Temple with theleadership of rabbis and the "replication of cultic piety" by theindividual (Neusner, Early 69). Yet Mishnah was the first of the rabbinic documents and it was thefoundation for the two Talmuds and subsequent Jewish law. First, thetradition of the dual Torah emphasized "history's meaning and end" in thearrival of a messiah, an important tenet for the Jews of the Diaspora whowere powerless in almost every sense in the communities in which theydwelled (Neusner Rabbinic 72). Brown Judaic Studies. Early Rabbinic Judaism: Historical Studies in Religion, Literature and Art. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985.---. As reflected in Mishnah, the sages who formulatedthis approach did not want to look for a better world outside the oneformed by the one-time events of history. First, in sixty-five years the Jews had gone from being "a polity centered on Temple andstate" to a "conglomeration of communities" dispersed to various pointsthroughout the Middle East (Cohen 2). During the first century the Pharisees were involved in a strugglefor dominance with the Sadducees, who reasserted the belief that "God hadrevealed a single, immutable written law" (Rivkin 66). There were four particular aspects of the traditionthat derived from the Pharisees that exercised such an appeal. The Three Crowns: Structures of Communal Politics in Early Rabbinic Jewry. "Rabbinic Judaism in Late Antiquity." Judaism: A People and Its History. Formative Judaism: Religious, Historical, and Literary Studies, Fifth Series, Revisioning the Written Records of a Nascent Religion. In its"definitive construction" the Mishnah had no room for much discussion ofthe study of Torah, the role of the rabbi, or other propositions"definitive of the Judaism that rests upon it" (Neusner, Rabbinic 75).Based on the evidence of the Mishnah in its form from around the year 2 CE, Judaism would have appeared to be centered on the priesthood and theTemple, with simple laws that tell how an unchanging society goes about itsdaily life. Brill, 1975.---. If the Torah was of central importance, then knowledge of Torahtook precedence over performance of cultic rites by the priests. Leiden: E. Robert M. This idea did not develop out of anoutright rejection of the Temple and the cult by the Pharisees. "Pharisees." Ed. But after 135 the denial of Jerusalem to the Jews and theplowing over of the Temple mount left little hope that rebuilding wouldtake place in the foreseeable future. It was at this time that a transition fromPharisaic to Rabbinic Judaism began. 6 CE)Rabbinic Judaism consisted of a synthesis of the messianic and priestlytraditions. Prayer and reading weremandatory in their view and there was a need for "a noncultic institution"where these observances could take place (Rivkin 67). Thus unifying principles were neededthat would function well in the specific context of the Diaspora. New York: Macmillan, 1989. Some claim had to be made for a rightto succession (which was impossible) or the replacement of the old systemshad to be rationalized. Seltzer. But in the next three or four centuries the rabbis graduallyrestructured the entire legal and theological system of the Mishnah andmade it into something entirely new. During this time there had been "amassive reaction" against the Mishnah's original formulation of "anahistorical Judaism" and the writings of the rabbis of this period showed arevival of interest in the meaning of history (Neusner, Rabbinic 75). The rabbis' reconciliation ofthe major strains in Judaism took place only after centuries in which majorupheavals in Jewish life were instrumental in the formulation of thepositions of both groups. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.