Hello everyone!
On Tuesday we went on the Oral Law Tiyul up North to some amazing sites. Some of us had parents or other family members that joined us on our learning adventure and it was fun to give them a taste of our daily life here at Heller High. Our first stop was Beit She’arim (House of Gates), a Jewish burial site from around the year 200 CE. This archaeological site contains hundreds of rock-cut tombs, many that are adorned with elaborate designs, symbols and figures. The four corners of the sarcophagi lids symblolize the four corners of the Temple altar and the four corners of the world. On some of the sarcophagi there are wreaths, the Roman symbol of infinity, symbols of Nike, the Roman goddess of victory, and symbolistic animals such as cows, lions and eagles. These adornments were most likely a result of the influence of GrecoRoman culture on our Jewish ancestors, however; many of us were still surprised to see these symbols and idols. Throughout the Tanach, God continually reminds us not to do Avodah Zara, Idol worship, and punishes us harshly when we do, so how could these figures and symbols be accepted by God and the Rabbis of Judaism?
In the burial caves there is also a giant Menorah carved into the stone wall. This Jewish Kosher symbol proves that this was indeed a Jewish burial site and that Judaism was still a strong part of these ancient people’s identity despite the Roman influences depicted on their sarcophagi.
We then went to Sachne where we ate a picnic lunch and went swimming in a beautiful lagoon. It was fun to sit on the rocks with the fish bitting the dead skin off our feet or lay out in the sun with our family and friends.
Our final stop was to Synagogue Beit Alpha which houses a very well preserved mosaic. We watched a short video about the Synagogue’s history and then Shira taught us more about it. The mosaic has three sections: the depiction of the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac, the Zodiac Calendar with the Greek sun God Helios inside of it, and the Holy Ark with sacred objects from the Temple. This threefold mosaic is said to represent the past, present and future of the Jewish people; the past being the matriarchs and patriarchs of biblical times, the present being the influence of Hellenism on Jewish culture, and the future being the hope for a third temple and the growth of the Jewish people. Parallel to the catacombs at Beit She’arim, the same question can be asked about how the Jews rationalized these GrecoRoman idols and symbols.
After the Bar Kochba revolt, the SanHedrin moved to Tiberius and then to Bavel. Since Oral Law was at risk of being forgotten without a centralized place to pray, Jehuda Hanasi published the Mishnah. The Mishnah consists of six orders that state aspects of Jewish life and law.
In the Mishnah the Rabbis wrote rules of how to live a Jewish life despite the GrecoRoman influences by addressing how Jews could trade, work and worship with the other religions. For example, in Chapter 1 Mishnah 7 the Rabbis wrote that Jews, “Should not join them (Romans) in building a basilica, a scaffold, a stadium, or a platform”. After taking a bath in a bathhouse dedicated to Aphrodite, Rabban Gamaliel sets ground rules for interacting with symbols from other religions in Chapter 3 Mishnah 4 by writing, “I did not come into her domain, she has come into mine. People do not say, ‘the bath was made as an adornment for Aphrodite’; rather they say, ‘Aphrodite was made as an adornment for the bath.’" In the quote the Goddess Aphrodite is treated as art and not an idol. Rabban Gamaliel is saying that it is fine for Jews to be around figures and symbols as long as they are a part of popular culture and no longer part of the religious domain. This is one way the depictions of Gods and symbols on the sarcophagi and the mosaic at Beit Alpha were rationalized by the Rabbis.
As teenagers growing up in the US/Canada, very culturally and religiously mixed countries, sometimes aspects of American/Canadian society clash with our religious practices and beliefs forcing us to make hard choices. In our discussion, we were given certain situations that might put our Judaism practices at risk, and we had to decide where our own red lines stood. One of the situations was what would you do if there was a sporting event or a school dance on Yom Kippur? I personally drew a red line there and would have refused to go if presented with this situation. These situations led to discussions over what parts of Judaism and American culture are important to us and since both are integral parts of our identities these decisions were challenging to make.
So I will leave with you all with a question: Do you think the changes the Rabbis made in the Mishna about Jewish life and culture were rationalized and how can you rationalize your own hard choices when balancing your identity as a Jew and member of Western Society?
I think the rabbis were irrational. While we should maintain Jewish culture, we cannot advance in society, individually and as a people, of we are not part of it.I believe that the rabbis were irrational because in order to survive as a people, am, we need to take part in the rest of society, even if we do break Jewish law. In my life, I use Jewish traditions, however, I would observe the holiday, but I would still go to an event if it fell on a Jewish holiday.
ReplyDeleteI would like to think that the changes they made were irrational; that they destroyed the authentic Jewish culture. But at the same time, my favorite outfit is a t-shirt, joggers, and some Adidas shoes. I speak English, spend the Sabbath out with my friends, exc. point being, Am I not just as "bad" as the rabbis of the time? I would be a hypocrite to say the rabbis of the time are violating Jewish law. Would I be lying? Jewish law was given to us on Earth to follow and adapt, It's no longer in heaven and thus can be changed as we see fit.
ReplyDeleteAnd the rabbis of the time were just living in their society like I do. Adaptation is how this religion has survived. Without it, we would have died long ago. Adaptation is survival.
DeleteThe rabbis were irrational in their decisions to make the Jewish people Isolationists of society. It was rational however, when they made the choices more lenient and they indulged in the outside cultures. While I understand the thought of them wanting to preserve our culture and traditions, making us completely shun people for theirs is hypocritical and unfair. Today we are often faced with many situations that force us to assimilate to some degree. However, just because I don't keep Shabbat every single week and I talk to my Christian friends during their holidays, it doesn't mean that our religious and cultural identity is lessened. I rationalize my decisions based on what in Judaism I chose to follow and what really resonates with what I feel. Therefore, if I were to not keep the Sabbath because in western society, Fridays and Saturdays are the days of fun, does not mean that I am leaving behind our ancestry, only that I am choosing the engage with those outside the Jewish community and not isolate myself, due to my Judaism.
ReplyDeleteI think that what the Rabbi 's said was irrational but they had good intentions. I think its hard to generalize everyone by saying that if we assimilate we will lose our Jewish identity. That being said, I live in America and i feel like a Jewish American and not an American Jew. I do not feel like I have lost my persnoal Jewish identity. I feel that my life has a nice balence between my American and Jewish cultures. Sure I like to go out on fridays and saturdays but some weeks its nice to sit down for a shabbat meal with my famiy. I also tink the fact that I go to a URJ camp helps upkeep my Jewish identity.
ReplyDeleteI think that they were being rational, but I don't necessarily agree with their choices. They were trying to prevent assimilation while still allowing for a bit of social mingling. I think that being completely isolated during non-Jewish holidays doesn't make sense. They just have to make it clear that they should not engage in the idolatry. In a way, they were making a fence around the Torah. By telling the Jews not to do these certain things, they were making sure it wouldn't get to the point of actually breaking commandments. I personally don't isolate myself from Christian activities because I don't see the point. I go to my family-friends' Christmas parties because it's a time for celebrating each other, but I don't praise Jesus or anything religiously associated to the holiday. However, I definitely do isolate myself for Jewish holidays. I will not go to school or a sporting event or a dance on Yom Kippur or the first day of Rosh Hashanah because that is something that has always been important to me. I think that we can all draw a line where we think it should be, but I also heavily encourage people to uphold their Jewish beliefs no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that the Rabbis were being irrational, or forcing the Jews to be isolationists. The decisions they made were to help protect Jewish culture. Although some decisions could seem extreme and impractical, like not entering the city while there’s a festival going on, the Rabbis were simply building a fence around Jewish tradition. I struggle with balancing my Jewish and American identities, and in the past I have made decisions that put my American values first. Since being in Israel, my perspective has changed and my Judaism has become more important to me. In the future I'd like to make choices that reflect the personal importance of my Judaism, but in the past I rationalized by choices based on which identity was more important to me. I used to put American values first because to me it was more important for my successs, which was how I rationalized it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Rabbis had a bit of a mix between being irrational and rational. The mixture of another religion and another set of religious beliefs into is inexcusable in Jewish culture, traditional or not. On the other hand, working with other cultures has always been an aspect of all forms of Judaism. This is an important aspect, too. It benefits a Jewish community's economy, technology, intelligence, and many other ways. Without acculturation, Jewish life would be completely isolated and undeveloped, like Anabaptist lifestyle, or it would be wiped out completely, being weak and without strong technology and weaponry. In my experiences, being with others outside of the Jewish religion or culture, even on Jewish holidays and sometimes especially on Jewish holidays, educates me in an important and necessary way.
ReplyDeleteI think the changes the Rabbi's made were both irrational and rational. It was irrational because I don't think we lose our complte Judiasim identity by assimilating, but it was rational because it made the customs more lenient. I try to value my American culture and my Jewish identity equally, but thats not always realistic. In the past I valued my American values higher and would always choose that over the Jewish identity. Since being in Israel I am learning the importance of keeping my Jewish identity.
ReplyDeleteIn my life I try to find a good balance between Judaism and my non religious life. At home a end up at my temple for about 10 hours a week and even more sometimes for various activities. Balancing it can be hard sometimes especially around holidays. Thankfully my town is quite Jewish so I get the High Holy Days off. The decisions the Rabbis made make sense to me. They seem a bit far fetched and not related to the Torah at times but I get it. The idea is to build a fence...in moderation.
ReplyDeleteI belive the Rabbis had good intentions with creating the Mishna. However, I don't think Jews needed the Mishna to keep them doing right. Our lives should not have to be based on a set of rules that we couldn't keep in the first place. I make good decisions at home when it comes to choosing between Judaism and school. I get excused from school on the high holidays and I go to services instead of attending school. However, because my family grew up not religious for shabbat, I don't see the issue with going to a high school sporting event instead. I'm not religious and because i'm not religious I don't have a reasonable answer for if it's wrong or not to attend sports games and do other things different from what we were taught. Anyone's decisions are in the moment and influenced by society and the world aroung them and no ones decisions should be based off of the words "because this is what we are told as the Jewish people".
ReplyDeleteI belive the Rabbis had good intentions with creating the Mishna. However, I don't think Jews needed the Mishna to keep them doing right. Our lives should not have to be based on a set of rules that we couldn't keep in the first place. I make good decisions at home when it comes to choosing between Judaism and school. I get excused from school on the high holidays and I go to services instead of attending school. However, because my family grew up not religious for shabbat, I don't see the issue with going to a high school sporting event instead. I'm not religious and because i'm not religious I don't have a reasonable answer for if it's wrong or not to attend sports games and do other things different from what we were taught. Anyone's decisions are in the moment and influenced by society and the world aroung them and no ones decisions should be based off of the words "because this is what we are told as the Jewish people".
ReplyDeleteI think that the decisions were rationalized, and I think that because we are reform Jews, we have the luxury of rationalization of that balance. The ultra orthodox have no balance, they are denied that luxury, whereas we have the right to decide, something important that we as a group of people hold.
ReplyDelete