Notes for Religious Studies 369:

Introduction to Judaism

Medieval Judaism

Page from the Worms Mahzor, Illuminated prayerbook, Germany 13th Century

Differences in comparison to the previous (Talmudic) era

• Judaism was no longer the sole monotheistic faith in a pagan world.
  Most Jews lived under monotheistic religions--Christianity or Islam--that also shared the same scriptural traditions.
  This fact served both as a source of toleration and as a source of friction (as each community claimed to be the legitimate follower of the prophetic tradition).
• Talmudic literature was now considered complete and authoritative.
  The Talmuds were accepted by rabbinic Jews as the authoritative formulation of the Oral Torah.
• Talmudic Judaism arose in only two main centres: Israel and Babylonia.
• Babylonia produced only its Talmud.
• Israel also produced Midrash, Masora (science of Bible text and reading), liturgical poetry (piyyut).
• Under the Ge'onim, there was an attempt to maintain strong centralization.
  
• Medieval Judaism flourished in many places
.

New divisions and movements

• Broad cultural divisions:
  • Sepharadim: Jews of Muslim lands
  • Ashkenazim: Jews of Christian lands.
• Jews in Christian lands faced more severe persecutions and atttacks. Development of models of piety that promoted martyrdom (kiddush hashem = "sanctificaiton of the divine name").
• Struggle between Babylonia and Israel for leadership over Jewish world.
  Parallel to competition between Sunni Caliphate (in Baghdad) and rival Muslim leadership, especially Fatimid Ismailis in Egypt.
• Struggles between religious authority (Ga'on) and political authority (Exilarch.).
• Appearances of new Jewish theologies: Rationalist, Kabbalistic, Moralistic, etc.
• Approaches to biblical exegesis: D'rash-- according to the traditional midrashic and talmudic interpretations; vs. the new P'shat, literal, "scientific" reading of the text.