Notes for Religious Studies 369:

Introduction to Judaism

Basic Concepts from

S. Daniel Breslauer, Understanding Judaism through History

Hellenistic Canonization, Rituals and Beliefs

Stages in the development of a Jewish canon

Josiah (2 Kings 22-23): Deuteronomic reform

• Centralization of ritual to Jerusalem Temple
• Involvement of King, priests, prophets and general population.

Chronicles-Ezra (2 Chronicles 34-5)

• Stronger emphasis on priestly leadership
• Detailed regulation of ritual practice, especially by priests.

Common elements

• Sense of divine immanence in nature, history, observance.
• Centrality of obedience to God's commandments for national and individual welfare: Covenantal law.
• Monotheism

Different purposes for religious commandments and observances

• As a test of loyalty to the covenant: The fate of the nation is correlated to their devotion to the law.
  [cf. the Hasmonean decision to allow defensive war on the Sabbath.]
  
• Commemoration of sacred history.
• Combination of purposes: e.g., Hanukkah commemorates the victory over the Hellenists, but also serves as a lesson in loyalty to the tradition.
• Sadducee attitude: Ritual viewed principally as the domain of the Temple priesthood.
• Pharisaic / Rabbinic attitude: Religious observances are the responsibility of every Jew.

Disputes between Pharisees and Sadducees over festivals

1. Date of Shavuot:

   Apparently Sadducees shared Qumran solar calendar: 364-day year, so that Shavuoth would always fall on Sunday.

   Pharisaic calendar allows Shavuoth to commemorate the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

   Pharisaic calendar equivalent to Babylonian: luni-solar cycle.

2. Fire on the Sabbath

   "Sadducees did not allow any fire on Sabbath, even if kindled before the Sabbath." There is no documentation for this claim.

3. Worship on Yom Kippur

   Dispute was not over scapegoat (as stated in text-book), but over offering of incense in Holy of Holies. The Pharisees (understanding the biblical text more literally) said the High Priest should light the incense after entering; the Sadducees said to light it before entering.

Alexandrian Hellenistic Judaism

Septuagint

Legend of its miraculous translation by 70 elders (Letter of Aristeas)

Attaches sanctitiy to the translation, not just to the original contents.

Inclusion of material not incorporated into the official Jewish Bible: Apocrypha

Philo and Allegorical Interpretation of Bible

Both rituals and narratives were interpeted as symbolic representations of philosphical ideas.

Jewish tradition portrayed as universal, rational, philosophical system.

Problem of God's interaction with material universe: Doctrine of Logos

Mystical dimension of Philo's Judaism.

Problem of "radical allegorists": Once people have understood the allegorical message of the Torah, do they have to continue observing the rituals?