Formative Judaism

This chapter examines some of the assumptions that are typically employed when dealing with the development of the Hebrew Bible. The first part of the chapter is a critique of the very term "Jewish Bible." It points out some of the problems with the term and make a plaidoyer against being politically correct. The second part focuses on what it means to explain the "development" of the Hebrew Bible and suggests that diachronic analysis alone cannot fully explain its formation. In this author's view, proper understanding of the development of the Bible requires drawing upon intellectual and literary models more commonly associated with the period of the “reception of scripture” than with conventional composition history.

קריאה פמיניסטית במדרש מדרש איכה רבה, העוסק בחילופי האחיות בין רחל ללאה בליל חופתה של רחל.
המדרש  נועד להסביר את שאינו מצוי בטקסט המקראי: כיצד זה לא הבחין יעקב בחילופין שנעשו ביום נישואיו בין רחל אהובתו לבו ובין אחותה לאה.
הטקסט מעלה שאלות אודות אפשרות צדיקותן של נשים ועוקב אחר שושלת בית רחל כחלק מתפיסה נרחבת של קריאה המבקשת למצוא במקרא היבטים לתיקון חברתי

A feminist reading on the story of the Midrash Eicha on Rachel and Lea
בתוך הספר א-מיתיות.
עורכים: הנרייט דהאן כלב , דפנה חורב בצלאל , אלי ברקת ואביגדור שנאן

Introduction to Messianic Judaism provides a description of what the Messianic Jewish community looks like today at its center and on its margins. The first section of the book traces the ecclesial contours of the community, providing a socio-historical and theological snapshot of the community's origins, where it is presently and where it is heading. Alongside these chapters, the book also includes a number of essays on biblical and theological issues central to the identity of Messianic Judaism. The twelve contributors to the first part of the book are recognized leaders in the Messianic Jewish community. They work with various organizations, including the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues, the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council, Tikkun International, Chosen People Ministries, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, Israel College of the Bible and the New School for Jewish Studies. Fourteen scholars from a wide spectrum of Christian backgrounds have written essays for the second part of the book. Their participation signals a growing academic and ecclesial interest in Messianic Judaism. Since the 1970s, a sea change has taken place in New Testament studies that has far-reaching implications for how the church evaluates Messianic Judaism. A broad reassessment of the New Testament writers’ view of Judaism has occurred since the publication of E. P. Sanders’s seminal work Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), and this reevaluation continues unabated. The contributors to the second part of Introduction to Messianic Judaism draw from this recent scholarship and demonstrate how post-supersessionist interpretation of the New Testament results in readings of the biblical text that are consistent with Messianic Judaism. The final section of the book is written by Joel Willitts who provides a summary and synthesis of the essays, explaining how they shed light on the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of Messianic Judaism.

Courtney J. P. Friesen explores shifting boundaries of ancient religions by way of the reception of a popular tragedy, Euripides’ Bacchae . As a play staging political crises provoked by the arrival of the “foreign” god Dionysus and his ecstatic cult, audiences and readers found resonances with their own cultural moments. This dramatic deity became emblematic of exuberant and liberating spirituality and, at the same time, a symbol of imperial conquest. Thus, readings of the Bacchae frequently foreground conflicts between religious autonomy and political authority, and between ethnic diversity and social cohesion. This cross-disciplinary study traces appropriations and evocations of this drama ranging from the fifth century BCE through Byzantium not only among “pagans” but also Jews and Christians. Writers variously articulated their religious visions over against Dionysus, often while paradoxically adopting the god’s language and symbols. Consequently, imitation and emulation are at times indistinguishable from polemics and subversion.

Petit article de vulgarisation à l'usage des enseignants du fait religieux au collège ou au lycée, ou tout simplement du curieux néophyte. Une version de cet article a été publié dans la revue "Arbre", de la famille franciscaine de France.

The present study explores the origins of Jewish ritual immersion – inquiring when immersion first appeared as a rite of purification and what the reasons may have been for this development specifically at this time. Textual and archaeological evidence suggest that immersion emerged at some point during – or perhaps slightly prior to – the first half of the first century B.C.E. It is suggested here that the practice grew out of contemporary bathing practices involving the Hellenistic hip bath. Through a process of ritualization, full-body immersion emerged as a method of purificatory washing clearly differentiated from profane bathing. By way of a subsequent process of 'hyper-ritualization', some ventured further to distinguish purificatory ablutions from profane bathing by restricting use of 'drawn water' for purification and by assigning impurity to anyone who bathed in such water. Before us is an enlightening example of one of the many ways wherein Jewish religious practices evolved and adapted in response to Hellenistic cultural innovations.

𝗔 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗺.

Throughout much of history, the Jewish way of life has been characterized by strict adherence to the practices and prohibitions legislated by the Torah: dietary laws, ritual purity, circumcision, Sabbath regulations, holidays, and more. But precisely when did this unique way of life first emerge, and why specifically at that time?

In this revolutionary new study, Yonatan Adler methodically engages ancient texts and archaeological discoveries to reveal the earliest evidence of Torah observance among ordinary Judeans. He examines the species of animal bones in ancient rubbish heaps, the prevalence of purification pools and chalk vessels in Judean settlements, the dating of figural representations in decorative and functional arts, evidence of such practices as tefillin and mezuzot, and much more to reconstruct when ancient Judean society first adopted the Torah as authoritative law.

Focusing on the lived experience of the earliest Torah observers, this investigative study transforms much of what we thought we knew about the genesis and early development of Judaism.

Ritual baths (miqwa’ot) built adjacent to winepresses and olive-presses have been unearthed at about twenty sites dating to the Second Temple period, most of them in Judea and the environs of Jerusalem. While much has been written in recent years on the form and function of ancient ritual baths in general, little scholarly attention has been paid to miqwa’ot found in agricultural contexts.
The presence of these miqwa’ot suggests that the ritual purity of the wine and olive oil processed in these installations was of particular importance. The fact that these ritual baths were situated adjacent to winepresses and olive-presses suggests that agricultural laborers made use of these miqwa’ot immediately prior to commencing work in these installations, a practice which accords with the Pharisaic concept of tevul yom. These finds thus provide rare archaeological evidence for the observance of ritual purity laws based on the Pharisaic system of halakhah.

Uimit de Hristos este o autobiografie, o istorie intelectuală şi povestea unei convertiri. Dorinţa şi nevoinţa părintelui James de a-L cunoaşte pe Dumnezeu l-au dus de la iudaism la creştinism. Această carte este de o importanţă deosebită pentru majoritatea protestanţilor contemporani care au o puternică orientare fie spre iudaism, fie spre sionism. Autorul oferă o excelentă prezentare a tranziţiei sale intelectuale şi spirituale de la iudaism la protestantismul evanghelic şi, în cele din urmă, la Ortodoxie, oferind în paginile cărţii răspunsuri la întrebările evanghelicilor despre Liturghia ortodoxă, Taine, sfinţi, şi despre deosebirile dintre Biserica Ortodoxă şi romano-catolicism.

The book of Tobit, which is dated to the Hellenistic period, is often compared with the model of the pious and innocent sufferer in the book of Job which is assumed to be the product of a late Persian or early Hellenistic scribal idea. It has been argued that in many ways, the author of Tobit directly alluded to Job's texts and put its literary framework and themes into a new historical context, the Assyrian Diaspora. However, both literary works are quite dissimilar in how they used various Israelite and non-Israelite materials and they substantially reflect different thoughts and interests. In this paper, I indicate how each book understands Jewish literary tradition and suggest that both books reflect their own intellectual background. This will be discussed in four areas; (1) suffering and theodicy, (2) dialogue, (3) retribution, law, and piety, (4) election, eschatology, and apocalyptic.

"Reviews of:
Fassberg, The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Challa
Häberl, The Neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr
Khan, The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Qaraqosh
Khan, The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Sulemaniyya
Khan, The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Barwar
Khan, Neo-Aramaic Dialect Studies
Khan, The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Urmi
Mutzafi, The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Betanure
Poizat, Manuel de soureth
Rees, Lishan Didan, Targum Didan
Talay, Neuaramäische Texte in den Dialekten der Khabur-Assyrer
Talay, Die neuaramäischen Dialekte der Khabur-Assyrer"

The aim of this paper is to understand how early Jews used prayer and study to combat chronic stress and anxiety in the brain and body. Drawing on insights from neurophysiological research into such matters, the author examines an important talmudic text, b. Soṭah 49a, which describes what happens when an ardent disciple engages in prayer and study with great focus and intensity. This individual, the text asserts, will find himself in a state of mystical peace and tranquility that transcends the stress of life in a world spiraling out of control without the Jerusalem Temple. In fact, the disciple experiences not only stability in this ever-shifting world but satisfaction of an other-worldly sort. With the help of contemporary neurophysiological research, the article proposes that the circle of rabbis responsible for this portion of the Babylonian Talmud are prescribing intense prayer and study as a means not only of making contact with the other world but, in the process, of combatting stress and anxiety on the brain and body in the present world.

Three caves were discovered by the first archaeological expedition to Naḥal Ṣeʾelim in 1960 under the direction of Yohanan Aharoni: Cave 31 (“The Cave of the Arrows”), Cave 32 (“The Cave of the Skulls”) and Cave 34 (“The Cave of the Scrolls”). This article presents a tefillin case from Cave 34, a find which was never published or even mentioned in preliminary reports on the results of the expedition. The miniscule case is made of leather; it is almost square in shape (16×17 mm) and is divided into four compartments. No inscribed tefillin slips were found inside. Two tefillin slips which were discovered separately in the cave have been published in the past, however it is impossible to know for sure if these originated in the case under discussion. Although Aharoni identified the Bar Kokhba revolt as the main period of activity in the three adjacent Naḥal Ṣeʾelim caves, it is possible that the tefillin case might have been brought to Cave 34 earlier—perhaps during the course of the Great Revolt. The structure and size of the tefillin case are quite similar to those of tefillin cases with four compartments found elsewhere in the Judean Desert, most of which date to the late Second Temple period. It should come as no surprise that our tefillin case matches certain details found in the rabbinic prescriptions considering the fact that the rabbis were certainly aware of the way contemporary Jews practiced the tefillin ritual, and it is against this backdrop of common practice that the comments of the rabbis should be read and understood. Recognizing that the rabbis were likely reacting to existing practices rather than acting as primary promulgators of halakhic praxis, there is little reason to label the tefillin case from Naḥal Ṣeʾelim as in some way or other “rabbinic”.

Biblical wisdom literature is a treasure-trove of powerful metaphors. This article presents a sample of these metaphors and their significant impact on contemporary artwork. The impact is characterized by both appropriation and adaptation, similitude and analogy, respectively. The highlighted metaphors are not merely catalogued but, more or less, analyzed with regard to relevant contemporary artwork. This augments the importance of contemporary biblical literacy analysis and uses it as one of the tools by which it is possible to gauge the impact and interaction, in this case, of the metaphor-world of the wisdom tradition on contemporary art. More importantly, however, this study underscores the relevance of these metaphors for biblical exegesis, hermeneutics, and theology. The analysis of the reception of these metaphors in contemporary artworks undergirds and informs the process of interpretation. The reception of these metaphors in their contemporary art contexts is best understood within the framework of imagery and imagistic language. Metaphor, as a subset of imagery and imagistic language, is foundational for the examined wisdom books, Proverbs, Job, and Qoheleth, and for the relevant contemporary artwork, alike. Moreover, metaphor also constitutes a bridge between the ancient and contemporary context. With this backdrop in mind, this article argues for the necessity of exploring the connections between these wisdom books, metaphor studies, and contemporary artwork.

A lo largo de su historia el Imperio romano tuvo que hacer frente a numerosas revueltas, debido al enorme territorio que controlaba. De entre los pueblos que las protagonizaron, los hebreos se contaban entre los que con mayor insistencia lucharon por recuperar su independencia. En cuanto a los diversos conflictos que enfrentaron a judíos y romanos, la que, a la postre, seria recordada como la Primera Guerra Judeo-romana (66-73 d.C.) pasó a la historia como el más importante de todos. Ello se debe tanto a que requirió de la participación de dos futuros emperadores al mando de las tropas romanas que debían restablecer la paz en la provincia de Judea, Vespasiano y su hijo Tito, como al hecho de que la ciudad de Jerusalén y el Gran Templo que albergaba acabaron completamente destruidos.

En el año 66 d.C. numerosos factores se unieron al odio que sectores radicales hebreos sentían hacia sus conquistadores romanos, provocando la caída del procurador de Judea, Gesio Floro, y la derrota del Legado de Siria, Cestio Galo, en Beth Horón, quien acudió con sus tropas a pacificar la región sin conseguirlo. El movimiento fue cobrando fuerza tras estos éxitos, y Jerusalén se convirtió en el epicentro del independentismo judío. Roma no podía permanecer pasiva ante estos acontecimientos y Nerón envió allí a Vespasiano, un general experimentado, para acabar de una vez por todas con el problema. La resistencia implacable que demostraron los rebeldes y los problemas políticos que, durante ese tiempo, se produjeron en Roma, provocaron que la conquista final quedara en manos de su capaz hijo Tito quien, a la postre, consiguió conquistar Jerusalén y acabar con la revuelta. El gran triunfo que se celebró en Roma para conmemorar la victoria era lo que la nueva dinastía Flavia necesitaba para afianzar su poder. Sin embargo, la campaña no finalizó hasta el año 73 d.C., tras la toma de la fortaleza de Masada, donde los últimos insurrectos prefirieron suicidarse antes de ser derrotados. El enfrentamiento se saldaría con una enorme pérdida de vidas, tanto entre los soldados romanos como entre los insurrectos judíos y la población civil. Gracias a la obra de Flavio Josefo, podemos reconstruir lo sucedido para poder así conocer con detalle uno de los grandes episodios de la Historia Antigua.

The many qere notes in the Aramaic passages of the Hebrew Bible show that the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition goes back to a different variety of Ara-maic than the consonantal texts. While this qere dialect differs in important respects from every well attested dialect of Aramaic, it closely resembles a small number of documents from first and second-century CE Palestine. This suggests that this was the time and place at which the reading tradition was fixed, not just of the Biblical Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible, but of the Hebrew Bible in its entirety.

RESUMO: O presente artigo visa debater a importância histórica do livro de 2 Macabeus assim como o propósito original deste livro. Analisando a intenção do autor do livro, destacada através de uma análise de contexto e do próprio texto, identifica-se que se trata de uma obra centrada, para além da Revolta dos Macabeus, na festa de Hanuká, uma vez que serve como propaganda desta festa, visando incentivar seu conhecimento e sua celebração pelos judeus fora da Judeia. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Hanuká. Judaísmo helenístico. Literatura judaica. 2 Macabeus.

ABSTRACT: This article aims to debate the historical importance of the book of 2 Maccabees as well as the original purpose of this book. Analyzing the intention of the author of the book, highlighted through a context analysis and the text itself, it is identified that it is a work centered, in addition to the Revolt of the Maccabees, on the feast of Hanuká, since it serves as propaganda of this feast, encouraging its knowledge and celebration by Jews outside of Judea. KEYWORDS: Hanukkah. Hellenistic Judaism. Jewish literature. 2 Maccabees.

"The Enochic Son of Man and Pauline Christology"

A comparative analysis of the Messiah in the Book of the Parables of Enoch and the Letters of Paul, this study locates one aspect of Paul’s thought, his christology, in the context of Jewish intellectual traditions of the first century BCE and the first century CE. Conceptual elements of messianic traditions are identified in these documents by examining the nature and functions of the divine figure and the nature and functions of the messiah figure. This has implications for understanding divine and human agency and the relationships between mediatorial figures and the one God in Jewish literature from the Second Temple period. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the Book of the Parables and the Letters of Paul share specific conceptual elements of messianic traditions. The combination of shared elements is so striking as to preclude the possibility that the Book of the Parables and the Letters of Paul constituted independent, parallel developments. The evidence indicates that Paul was familiar with the conceptual elements of the Enochic messiah, and that Paul developed his concept of Jesus as the Kyrios out of the Son of Man traditions in the Book of the Parables of Enoch. This study argues that at least one facet of Paul’s thought, his christology, was heavily influenced by Enochic Son of Man traditions.