Judaism

History, Belief and Practice

Dan Cohn-Sherbok

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317432029
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This newly revised all-encompassing textbook is a guide to the history, beliefs and practice of Judaism. Beginning with the ancient Near Eastern background, it covers early Israelite history, the emergence of classical rabbinic literature and the rise of medieval Judaism in Islamic and Christian lands. It also includes the early modern period and the development of Jewry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Extracts from primary sources are used throughout to enliven the narrative and provide concrete examples of the rich variety of Jewish civilization.

Specially designed to assist learning, Judaism:

• Introduces texts and commentaries, including the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic texts, mystical literature, Jewish philosophy and Jewish theology

• Provides the skills necessary to understand these step-by-step with the help of a companion website

• Explains how to interpret the major events in nearly four thousand years of Jewish history

• Supports study with discussion questions on the central historical and religious issues, and includes key reading for each chapter, an extensive glossary and index

• Illustrates the development of Judaism, its concepts, observances and culture, with maps, photos, paintings and engravings

• Links each chapter to a free companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/cohnsherbok which provides things to think about, things to do and tips for teachers as well as other online resources

p.1

PART I HISTORY

This survey of Jewish history traces the evolution of Judaism from Biblical times to the present day. Throughout this account the major developments of the faith as well as the central turning points of Jewish history are discussed in detail. The narrative includes such topics as the patriarchs, the Exodus, the period of the judges, the rise of monarchy, the prophets, the rise of rabbinic Judaism, Jews under Islamic rule, medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism, Judaism in the early modern period, the Enlightenment, the emergence of Hasidism, the growth and development of Reform Judaism, Jewish life in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Holocaust and aftermath, the history of modern Israel, women in Judaism, Jews and culture, Jews in medicine and science, and the future of Judaism.

p.3

CHAPTER 1

Ancient Mesopotamian civilization

Timeline:

c. 3100 BCE Invention of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia

c. 2615–2175 BCE Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history

c. 2360–2180 BCE First large-scale territorial empire of Mesopotamian history

21st–19th centuries BCE Movement of Amorites and other peoples into Mesopotamia and Canaan

21st–19th century BCE Middle Bronze Age in Canaan

2060–1950 BCE Third Dynasty of Ur

Map 1 Babylonian empire

p.4

Map 2 Sumer and Akkad

In about 7000 BCE ancient peoples began to engage in agriculture, domesticate animals and establish urban communities – their dwellings have been traced to the hills of western Iran and Anatolia, to the shores of the Caspian Sea and Palestine. Later at the end of the fourth millennium, the Sumerians – a people who produced the first written script, the cuneiform system of wedge-shaped signs – created city states in southern Mesopotamia. Each city had its local god. In Uruk – the best known from archaeological excavations – there were two main temples: one was for Anu, the supreme god of heaven; the other was for Inanna, the mother goddess of fertility, love and war. In addition to these two gods, deities were worshipped at other sites. Enlil, lord of the atmosphere, was worshipped at Nippur; Enki, ruler of the fresh waters beneath the earth, at Eridu; Utu, the sun god, at Larsa; and Nanna, the moon god, at Ur.

Each of these gods had a family and servants who were also worshipped at other shrines. The temple itself was placed on a high platform and housed in a holy room a statue of the god. Sumerian priests recounted stories about these gods whose actions were restricted to various spheres of influence. Often they were portrayed as quarrelling over their areas of power; they also engaged in trickery, expressing every type of human emotion and vice. In addition, the Sumerian legends contain accounts of creation. According to the Sumerian epics, Enlil, the lord of the atmosphere, separated heaven from earth, and Enki, the ruler of fresh waters beneath the earth, created human beings to grow food for himself and the gods.

During the third millennium, a Semitic people – the Akkadians – settled amidst the Sumerians and adopted their writing and culture. In 2300 BCE King Sargon of Akkad established the first Akkadian empire, and the Akkadians dominated Mesopotamia. At this time the Sumerian myths were written in the Semitic script Akkadian rather than in Sumerian cuneiform. These Semites identified some of their gods with the Sumerian ones: Anu was equated with El (the chief god); Inanna with Ishtar; and Enki with Ea. In Akkadian schools epics of the gods were recorded. The Gilgamesh Epic, for example, tells of King Gilgamesh who ruled in Uruk in about 2700 BCE. According to legend, Gilgamesh embarked on a quest for immortality; eventually he encountered an old man – Ut-napishtim – who told Gilgamesh how he had become immortal. The gods, he explained, created man, but were disturbed by his noise. Unable to quell this tumult, they decided to destroy man by a great flood. Enki, who had created man in the first place, told Ut-napishtim to build a large boat in which he could escape. After the flood, the boat was grounded on a mountain, and the gods rewarded Ut-napishtim with immortality. Ut-napishtim told Gilgamesh to get a plant that could make him young again. Although Gilgamesh discovered it, he put it on the ground when he went swimming. Later it was eaten by a snake and Gilgamesh returned home empty-handed.

p.5

Figure 1 God Ningirso as lion-headed eagle, lapis lazuli with gold leaf, from treasure of Ur (Sumerian capital of Mesopotamia). © The Art Archive/National Museum, Damascus, Syria/Dagli Orti.

In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology, life was under the control of the gods. To obtain happiness, it was vital to keep the gods in good humour through sacrifice and worship. Nonetheless, the gods were unpredictable, and this gave rise to the use of omens. In the birth of monstrosities, in the movements of animals, in the shapes of cracks in the wall, and in oil poured into a cup of water, these ancient peoples were able to see the fingers of the gods pointing to the future. Hence, if a person wanted to marry, or a king wished to go to war, they would consult the gods. One common practice was to examine the liver of a sacrificed animal, and a special class of priests was trained to interpret these signs.

At its height the empire of Sargon and his descendants stretched from the Persian coast to the Syrian shores of the Mediterranean. However, in about 2200 BCE this empire collapsed through invasion and internal conflict. Among the new arrivals in Mesopotamia were the Amorites who dwelt in Mesopotamian cities such as Mari and Babylon; there they integrated into Sumero-Akkadian civilization. Other Amorites penetrated into Syria–Palestine (ancient Canaan). There they retained their separate tribal structure. The collapse of the Akkadian empire was followed by a Sumerian revival in the Third Dynasty of Ur (2060–1950 BCE). One of the greatest rulers was Hammurabi of Babylon who reigned from 1792 to 1750 BCE. In his honour the Enuma Elish (the Babylonian creation story) was composed. Several centuries later, in about 1400 BCE the state of Assyria became powerful in northern Mesopotomia, and after an interval became the dominant power in the Near East. The Assyrian kings copied the Babylonians; they worshipped the same gods, but their chief god was Ashur. When the Assyrians went to battle, it was at Ashur’s command, and it was to defend or expand his frontiers that they fought.

In the second millennium, the inhabitants of Canaan consisted of a mixture of races, largely of Semitic origin. Excavations have unearthed the remains of small temples in Canaanite towns which contained cultic statutes in niches opposite doorways. Where temples had courtyards, it appears that worshippers stood outside while priests entered the sanctuary. Archaeological discoveries have revealed that a large altar was in all likelihood placed in the courtyard with a smaller one inside the temple. Animal remains suggest that sacrifices consisted mainly of lambs and kids. Liquid offerings of wine and oil were made and incense was burned. In some temples, stone pillars stood as memorials to the dead; other pillars were symbols of gods. Statues of gods and goddesses were carved in stone or moulded in metal; they were then overlaid with gold, dressed in expensive garments, and decorated with jewellery.

p.6

In the north of ancient Canaan, excavations at Ugarit have provided information about the local religion. The texts of Ugarit illustrate that the gods of Canaan were similar to many others of the ancient Near East. El was the father of gods and men; his wife was Asherah, the mother goddess. El had a daughter Anat who personified war and love; she is described in some accounts as the lover of her brother, Baal, the god of weather. These Ugaritic texts depict Baal’s victory over Yam (the sea) and against Mot (the god of death). Other gods include Shapash, the sun goddess; Yarikh, the moon god; and Eshmun, the healer. The Canaanite religious structure as well as the earlier Sumerian and Akkadian religions set the backdrop for the emergence of the religion of the ancient Israelites. The earliest stories in the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) contain centuries-old legends, composed in the light of Mesopotamian myths. Jewish civilization thus did not emerge in a vacuum. Rather it was forged out of the essential elements of an extensive Mesopotamian cultural heritage.

SOURCES

Babylonian Creation Myth

For the ancient Babylonians, the Creation Myth provided a religious framework for the understanding of the cosmos. Unlike the account of creation in Genesis which is monotheistic in character, this Babylonian epic portrays the actions of the gods of the ancient Near East:

When above the heaven was not yet named,

And the land beneath bore no name,

And the primeval Apsu (abyss) their begetter,

And chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both –

Their waters were mingled together,

And no field was formed, nor marsh was to be seen;

When of the gods still none had been produced,

No name had yet been named, no destiny yet fixed;

Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven . . .

He (Marduk) made the stations for the great gods,

As stars resembling them he fixed the signs of the zodiac,

He ordained the year, defined divisions,

Twelve months with stars, three each he appointed.

He caused the moon-god to shine forth, entrusted to him the night:

Appointed him as a night body to determine the days.

(The Babylonian Creation-Epic, Tablet I, in SBW, pp. 47–48)

p.7

Babylonian Flood Story

The story of the Flood is one of the greatest of the Babylonian myths. It is told in the eleventh of the twelve tablets which make up the Epic of Gilgamesh:

I put on board all my family and relatives,

The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field,

Craftsmen all of them, I put on board.

A fixed time had Shamash appoint...