Sunday, August 30, 2020

 

Our Famous Teachers Around the First Century BCE; The Tannaim

Nadene Goldfoot                                                 
                                                                           
Rabbi Hillel, the Elder, was a first century BCE scholar who founded the school known as THE HOUSE OF HILLEL or Bet Hillel, and he became an ancestor of a dynasty of patriarchs who held office until the 5th century. Hillel was a scholar associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud.   He was born in Babylonia but settled in Judah and earned a slender living by doing manual labor while studying with 2 of the most famous teachers, Shemaiah and Avtalyon.  He became president of the Sanhedrin and with his opponent, Shammai,  who were the last of the pairs (Zugot) of scholars.  He was noted for his humility and leniency in the law.  Legal practice ultimately went in almost all cases according to the decision of he House of Hillel.  He is known for the Golden Rule: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." Hillel is remembered by college students with their Hillel House Fraternity on college campuses, and in many other ways as well.  
                                               
   Rabbi Shammai, the opposition partner of Hillel, and they lived during the troubled times of Herod's reign (73 BCE-4 BCE). Shammai was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hillel. His teachings mostly agree with those of Hillel.                                                         
What would Shammai say? 

 He foresaw the dangers of Roman hegemony and so enacted many rules intended to keep Jews from mixing with the heathen.  Shammai took a rigorous point of view in moral and religious matters, and at the same time being of a friendly nature, taught to "receive everyone graciously".  His motto was: "Make your study of the Torah a permanent endeavour; speak little, but accomplish much; and receive every man with a cheerful disposition". He was modest even toward his pupils.  Although the School of Shammai is famous for its disputes with the School of Hillel, Shammai himself differed on only 3 points with Hillel.  Very few halakhic teachings have survived in his name.  Shammai is possibly identical with the Pharisee, Sameas, who rallied the Sanhedrin against Herod's attempt at intimidation in 47 BCE.  
                                                                     
Born  50 CE , Caesarea, Israel; Died 135 CE Caesarea, Israel
     At the turn of the 1st century, we come into contact with Rabbi Ben Joseph Akiva who lived about from 50 to 135 CE.  He was a Tanna.  This was a very humble man who remained uneducated until he was 40 years old when his wife, Rachel, who was a daughter of the rich Kalba Sabbus, helped him to devote himself to learn.  He studied with many of the best scholars of the period and developed his own method of biblical interpretation according to which every word and sign in the Bible has a particular significance and can be used to establish a source for accepted halakhic decisions.  Rabbi Akiva was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash halakha. He is also sometimes credited with redacting Abraham's version of the Sefer Yetzirah, one of the central texts of Jewish mysticism. He is referred to in the Talmud as Rosh la-Hakhamim "Chief of the Sages."

Akiva  became noted as the greatest scholar of his time  and thousands of students studied at his school in Bene Berak in Jerusalem.  His interest in mystical speculation is reflected in that he was only one of 4 rabbis who studied this and remained unscathed, becoming a Tanna.  A tanna was a teacher living during the 1st 2 centuries CE.  The Tannaitic Period began with the death of Hillel and Shammai and ends with the generation after Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi.   

An outbreak  of plague among the pupils of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century ended on Iyyar 18. This happened this year on the 12th of May.  Next year it falls on the 30th of April.   It is hence  considered the "scholars' feast," the Omer period's regulations for half-mourning which has the prohibitions of marriage, cutting the hair, etc) being suspended.  Schoolchildren are given a holiday and formerly used to have mock-battles with bow and arrows. 

Rome came out with an edict saying it was prohibited to study the Law of Moses, and Akiva ignored it.  The result was that he was arrested as a rebel and had to serve a long prison sentence before being executed at Caesarea.  No rabbi of the talmudic period made a more profound impression on Jewish history and on the imagination of the Jewish people.  

On that Yom Kippur day one of the greatest sages in Jewish history was taken by his Roman captors and put to a torturous death. He had been imprisoned for siding with those opposed to Roman rule. Now he was to be killed. His skin was scraped from his body with iron combs. Yet, not even the harsh Romans could sway him from his faith. As tradition relates, the words of Shema Yisrael were on Rabbi Akiva's lips as he expired.


                                                     

The grave of Rabbi Akiva is on a hill in Tiberias overlooking the Kinneret. There are many Jewish laws concerning what prayer is permissible to utter at a grave. It is forbidden, for example, to pray to the deceased. There is, though, one prayer upon which all agree. We can look back at the life of Rabbi Akiva as a model and inspiration for our own lives. 
                                                   
Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi
Born 135 CE Judea, Died 217 CE Sepphoris in Galilee
Sepphoris or Zippori, in the past called Diocaesaraea and, during the Crusades, le Saforie, is a former village and an archaeological site located in the central Galilee region of Israel, 6 kilometers north-northwest of Nazareth. It lies 286 meters above sea level and overlooks the Beit Netofa Valley.
BuriedBet She'arim National Park, Kiryat Tiv'on, Israel

Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi or Judah I or Judah, the Prince, was a second-century rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He lived from approximately 135 to 217 CE. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea. He was one of Bar Kokhba's supporters and said he was the King-messiah.  General Bar Kokhba fought a 3 year war with Rome after he took over Jerusalem in 132 CE.  He was killed in 135 CE.  
During a famine, Judah opened his granaries and distributed corn among the needy. But he denied himself the pleasures procurable by wealth, saying: "Whoever chooses the delights of this world will be deprived of the delights of the next world; whoever renounces the former will receive the latter."                                           
                                             
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai
Born in the Galilee of Judah
           Such was the man who made such an impression on his student, Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai of the 2nd century, also a Tanna,  who came to create the Zohar with his colleagues and disciples. Moses de Leon was also thought to be  the author of the  The Zohar is their chief work of the Spanish Kabbalah, something like commentaries on sections of the Pentateuch and parts of the Hagiographa (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations). One group of writers, based in Gerona, was inspired by Isaac the Blind while the other, a more elite gathering, was led by Nachmanides and centered in Barcelona. The Kabbalah was the mystical religious stream in Judaism, originally denoting the oral tradition , but by the 12th century was adopted by mystics to denote the alleged continuity of their mystical "tradition"  from early times.  They discuss the mysteries of the Torah in a kabbalistic spirit.  It's made up of lengthy homiletic passages, like medieval exegesis, alternating with short discourses and parables.  The 2 earliest parts were composed between 1280 and 1285 in Spain, and the 3rd between 1290 and 1300 by another kabbalist who knew the Zohar and tried to imitate it.  It was first printed in 1558-60 and has been reprinted about 80 times.  An English translation came out in 1931-1934.  
Akiva's pupil, Simeon Bar Yochai, even followed Akiva after Akiva's imprisonment by the Romans.  He was expressing opinions which the authorities thought were rebellious and was forced to go into hiding in a cave with his son, Eleazar for 13 years!  

He was unworldy, teaching that Torah study should take precedence over the pursuit of a livelihood;  even regarding a man who paused in his study to admire nature as deserving death.  My comment is that this was going way too far.  Today we know that this is not healthy, mentally or physically.  


Simeon became a noted miracle-worker.  In later life, he was sent on a mission to Rome where he succeeded in obtaining the withdrawal of a persecutory decree.  
While he is attributed authorship of the Zohar by many kabbalists, the authenticity of this claim has been challenged by both secular and religious scholars. who point to Moses de León as the author who published the Zohar in the 13th century.

The Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron is one of the most famous tombs of a sage in Israel. It is the second 
largest religious site (following the Kotel or Western Wall) in Israel.
Kabbalists have made Simeon ben Yohai's  traditional tomb at 
Mt Meron a center of pilgrimage, especially on LAG BA-OMER (Iyyar 18) , the traditional date of his death.       

                                                 
     
In Israel, the day is marked by lighting of bonfires and a mass pilgrimage to the tomb of Meron of Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai, who is said to have died, transmitting his mystical lore, on this day.  
He is often quoted, as follows:
   
  • Better for that man to make himself fall into a fiery furnace than to embarrass his neighbour publicly.
  • There are three crowns – the crown of the Law, the crown of the priesthood, and the crown of kingship; but the crown of a good name excels them all.
  • The Holy One, blessed be He, has given three gifts to Israel: Torah, the Land of Israel, and the world to come.
  • A bird without heaven's consent cannot perish. How much more, then, man himself!
  • He that causes a man to sin is worse than he that had killed him.
  • I have seen those destined for the world to come. If they be thirty, my son and I are among them. If they be ten, my son and I are among them. If they be two, my son and I are them.
  • The Divine Law (Torah) was not given to expound, except unto those who eat manna (i.e. to those who are free from worldly cares and worries).
                                                     

Rabbi Moses de Leon (1250-1305) was a contributor to the Spanish Kabbalah later.  He lived in Guadalajara until moving to Avila in 1290, and wrote some 20 kabbalistic works of which only 2 have been printed.  His chief fame lied in his revelation of the Zohar, attributed to Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai.  
                                                     
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, commonly known as Nachmanides, and also referred to by the acronym Ramban and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta, was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Sephardic rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.  He was born in 1194, Girona, Spain and
died on April 4, 1270, Acre, Israel.

Ramban (Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi,  was a Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator. He is often called "Nachmanides", a Greek translation of the Hebrew "Ben Nahman", meaning "Son of Nahman". 

"Hear, my son, the instruction of your father and don't forsake the teaching of your mother (Mishlei 1:8). Get into the habit of always speaking calmly to everyone. This will prevent you from anger, a serious character flaw which causes people to sin. ... Once you have distanced yourself from anger, the quality of humility will enter your heart. This radiant quality is the finest of all admirable traits ... so that you will succeed in all your ways. Thus you will succeed and merit the World to Come which lies hidden away for the righteous.
  • Therefore, I will now explain to you how to always behave humbly. Speak gently at all times, with your head bowed, your eyes looking down to the ground and your heart focusing on Hashem. Don't look at the face of the person to whom you are speaking. Consider everyone as greater than yourself. If he is wise or rich, you should give him respect. If he is poor and you are richer -- or wiser -- than he, consider yourself to be more guilty than he, and that he is more worthy than you, since when he sins it is through error, while yours is deliberate and you should know better!
Rambam reached the peak of his professional reputation as a doctor when he was appointed to the staff of the court of Saladin as royal physician. He was charged with personally supervising the health of the Grand Vizier Alfadhel, as well as members of the royal family.
The book, Zohar, was sent by Nahmanides from Judah to Spain, where it reached the hands of Moses de Leon.  

He had an intense love for the Holy Land and considered emigration from there a grievous sin.  His pupil, Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi, frequently quoted him in the Mishnah .  
                                            

It is said that once Rabbi Judah Ha Nasi  saw a calf being led to the slaughtering-block, which looked at him with tearful eyes, as if seeking protection. He said to it: "Go; for you were created for this purpose!" Due to this unkind attitude toward the suffering animal, he was punished with years of illness. 
                                                      
Later, when his daughter was about to kill a small animal which was in her way, he said to her: "Let it live, for it is written: '[God's] tender mercies are over all his works'." After this demonstration of compassion, his illness ceased. Judah also once said, "One who is ignorant of the Torah should not eat meat." The prayer he prescribed upon eating meat or eggs also indicates an appreciation of animal life: "Blessed be the Lord who has created many souls, in order to support by them the soul of every living being.Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi was the editor of the Mishnah in its final form. He is referred to as “Rebbi,” Teacher par excellence, and as “Rabbeinu HaKadosh,” our Holy Rabbi.     

Resource:  The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/kabbalah-in-spain/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi_Akiva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_bar_Yochai
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/moses-de-le-oacute-n
http://www.jewishmag.com/107mag/rabbiakiva/rabbiakiva.htm







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Saturday, August 29, 2020

 

Part III: Genealogy of Moses

Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

  Moses (1391-1271 BCE)  was from the tribe of Levi, and from what I have found, Levi was the grandfather of Moses.  The father of Moses was Amram.  Jochebed was Levi's daughter from Milkah, and it is through this, his mother, that he is related to the Levites as well as through Amram, also a Levite.  Amram's father was Kohath, also a son of Levi.  Jochebed was Amram's aunt.  (Scene from 10 Commandments, a must to see about the Exodus with Charleston Heston as Moses).  
                                                      

Moses was born at a time of the Pharaoh's (Ramses, the Great?-played by Yul Brynner) fear of being overrun  by the nomadic Israelites who had entered Egypt and had multiplied quickly like the sheep they brought with them. By the time that Moses was born, his people had already been enslaved and were no longer shepherds.   He put out the edict to kill all male babies born to this clan.  This tells me that there was something to distinguish between the Israelite and the Egyptian; like the language.  Was there skin coloring?  His mother, Jochebed, hid him among the reeds of the Nile River in a water-proof basket. 
                                                     

The Pharaoh's daughter found him there, and rescued him, making him her son.                                                     
                                                                                 
His wet-nurse was his very own mother, as his sister, Mirium, had been watching to see what happened to him and brought her to the princess.  He grew up in this greatest of all royal courts, studying all that the other princes studied;  reading, writing, geography, religion, history.                           
                                                
Moses in the royal court, now a man.


One day he saw an over-seer beating an Israelite almost to death and he felt this was wrong, stopped him and accidently killed the overseer, a known to be punishment, even in Egypt.  Moses ran away, not knowing what else to do.  
                                                  

He fled to Midian, home of a Bedouin tribe, relatives of Abraham.  Their job was to travel in caravans of incense from Gilead to Egypt and later to other countries. Gilead, (see below)  was on the eastern side of the Jordan River (Transjordania, settled by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh.  It was part of the northern kingdom of Israel after the Exodus and would be captured in 732 BCE by the Assyrians.  They were a people closely connected with the Israelites.   
                                                    

 There, Moses  married the oldest daughter of Jethro, a priest of the Midianites, his beautiful Zipporah.  He had 2 sons, Gershom and Eliazer.  
It is uncertain which deities the Midianites worshipped. Through their apparent religio-political connection with the Moabites they are thought to have worshipped a multitude, including Baal-peor and the Queen of Heaven, Ashteroth                                                

Here, Moses tended the flocks of Jethro.  The Druze of today honor Jethro as Nebi Shu'aib at the shrine near Kephar Hittin.  In 2 places, Jetho is called Reuel, which may have been his personal name and Jethro would have been a sobriquet.  Jethro's son  was Hobab who went with Moses on the Exodus later to Canaan and whose family  eventually settled in Galilee.  Jael (12th century BCE)  was the wife of Heber the Kenite; was descended from Hobab.  She's the one who killed Sisera when he was looking for refuge from her people.  She killed him as he slept.  He was of the forces of Jabin of Hazor and were defeated by the Israelites, and was their commander.  

History is that the princes of Midian cooperated with Moab against Israel, and at an even later period, conducted a plundering expedition against the Valley of Jezreel which was repulsed by Gideon.  They lived near the Moabites and Edomites.  From 2nd Temple times, the Land of Midian was thought to be located in NW Arabia.  According to the Book of Judges, the Israelite chieftain, Gideon (12th century BCE) judge of Israel for 40 years, of tribe of Manasseh, defeated Midianites near Harod using a group of selected volunteers; offered the kingship but refused on the principle that G-d is king of Israel;  drove the Midianites into western Eretz Yisrael, after which they largely disappeared from the biblical narrative.
                                                      

 Moses saw a burning bush and there received the Divine command to return to Egypt and lead out his people from such repression and slavery.  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to 
                                                    

Horeb, also called (Sinai) the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of  fire from within a bush
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 
  It's possible that Moses was looking at the bush facing West, and that the sun was in his eyes.  It would have made the bush look like it was on fire.  
  Today's population is also wondering  about what caused this phenomena.  One answered with a type of bush.   
"Bushes growing in that same area are: It is apparently a rare, extremely long-lived species of bramble, Rubus sanctus, that is native to the area. In Latin, "sanctus" means "holy" (no doubt in reference to the Biblical event). The original bush has reportedly died, but a claimed descendant is still living and on display today. Although the bush may be in the same area as the original burning bush,  one plant that is actually capable of burning without being harmed is called (of course) the Burning Bush or the Gasplant (Dictamnus albus). These plants are herbaceous and produce beautiful 
Gasplant bloomwhite flowers in late spring or early summer. A lemony scent is emitted from the flowers as well as flammable gas which is responsible for its pyrotechnics. The oils produced by the leaves are also combustible and can be a skin irritant for some. Propagation must be done by seed, but it takes years to mature. They don't transplant well, but will live for many years once established. A sun loving plant, they've been listed as being hardy between zones 2 and 9.  3 varieties or cultivars: D. albus caucasicusD. albus 'Purpurea', and D. albus 'Rubra'."Besides Rubus sanctus and Dictamnus albus, there are numerous other plants that have gotten the name Burning Bush. Plants in the genres of EuonymusBassia, and Combretum are some of those included. However, these plants are named so because of their brilliant fall coloring.  

The important thing to remember is that this is when Moses decided to return to Egypt and lead his people out, which he did. 
                                                                 

 The Pharaoh needed the 10 plagues to happen before he allowed the 600 Israelites to leave.  

                                                         
            They crossed the Red Sea with the Egyptian army chasing after them.  

                                                                             

   The Pharaoh sent his army after them, but they all drowned in the sea. 

                                                                 

                                Mt Horab-Sinai, where Moses received the 10                                                    Commandments 

Before he died, he appointed Joshua to take his place, spoke to the people and summarized their journey together the past 40 years, blessed them all, told them what to do in Canaan and died at age 120.  Aaron would outlive him by 4 years, dying at 124.  He had been a prophetic lawgiver, and had given them the basis of monotheism and loyalty to one G-d, the Creator and Father of all. Israel was deemed a holy nation and a model for other people.  Moses had given his people the Torah (5 books of Moses).   
                                                                   
     
                        Joshua led the 600,000 into Canaan.  
          First called Hoshea, he was commander during battles, like with the Amalekites, our most hated enemy.  Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim and was among the 12 spies sent to reconnoiter the land of Canaan.  He and Caleb brought back encouraging reports to Moses, but the other 10 did not.  He and his young men had to conquer Canaan in order to enter.  So Joshua crossed the Jordan and had to fight against 2 kings.  Joshua died at age 110 and is buried in the mountains of Ephraim.  

             Genealogy of Moses -descendant of Abraham


Levi , son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham
.. +Milkah
. [3] Jochebed daughter of Levi
..... +[2] Amram, son of Kohath, son of Levi
..... [4]  Mirium, daughter of Amram
..... [5]  Aaron, son of Amram b: in Egypt c1395 BCE d: in Mt. Hor, (Hor Hahar) border of Edom
......... +[6] Elisheba
......... [7] Nadab
......... [8] Abihu
......... [9] Eleazar ben Kohen
............. +[10] Daughter of Putiel
............. [11] Jehoiarib
............. [12] Harim
............. [13] Malchijah
............. [14] Hakkoz
............. [15] Jeshua
............. [16] Eliashib
............. [17] Huppah
............. [18] Bilgah
............. [19] Hezir
............. [20] Hapizzez
............. [21] Pethahiah
............. [22] Jehezkel
............. [23] Jachin
............. [24] Gamul
............. [25] Delaiah
............. [26] Maaziah
............. [27] Phineas
............. [28] Pinchus
......... [29] Ithamar Issamar ben Kohen
............. [30] Jedaiah
............. [31] Seorim
............. [32] Mijamin
............. [33] Abijah
............. [34] Shecaniah
............. [35] Jakim
............. [36] Jeshabeab
............. [37] Immer
..... [38] MOSES b: in Egypt 1391 BCE d: in Canaan, outside-1271 BCE
......... +[39] Zipporah
......... [40] Gershom
............. [41] Chief Shebuel
......... [42] Eliezer
............. [43] Chief Rehabiah
................. [1] high priest Zadok
............. [44] Phineas Rehabiah
................. [1] high priest Zadok
. Gershon
..... Livni Laadan
......... Chief Jehiel
......... Zetham
......... Joel
..... Shimei
......... Shelomith
......... Haziel
......... Haran
. Kohath
..... [2] Amram
......... +[3] Jochebed
......... [4] daughter of Amram Mirium
......... [5] son of Amram Aaron b: in Egypt c1395 BCE d: in Mt. Hor, (Hor Hahar) border of Edom
...
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Midianites

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