Neusner - Three Questions of Formative Judaism.pdf

7/28/2019 Neusner - Three Questions of Formative Judaism.pdf

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T H R E E Q U E S T I O N S O F F O R M A T I V E J U D A I S M


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THREE QUESTIONS OFFORMATIVE IUDAISM

History, Literature, and Religion

BY

J A C O B N E U S N E R

BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, INC.BOSTON LEIDEN

2002


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L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s C a t a l o g i n g - in - P u b l i c a t i o n D a t a

N eusner, J acob, 1932T he three questions of formative J udaism: history, l iteratureand religion / by J acob N eusner.p. cm.I SBN 0-391-04138-X (he)1. Rabbi nical li terature H istory and criticism. 2. J udaism H istoryT almudic period, 10-425. 3. J udaism H istor iography.I. Title.BM 496.5.N 48257 2002296.1'206 dc21

2002010728

I S B N 0 - 3 9 1 - 0 4 1 3 8 - XP ap er ba ck I S B N : 0 - 3 9 1 - 0 4 1 7 7 - 0 Copyright 2002 by Bril l Academic Publishers, Inc. , Boston

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior writtenpermission from the publisher.Authorization to photocopy item for internal or personaluse is granted by Brill provided thatthe appropriate fees are paid directly to The CopyrightClearance Center , 222 Rosewood Drive , Suite 910D a n v e rs , M A 0 1 9 2 3 , U S A .Fees are subject to change.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AM ERICA


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T H R E E Q U E S T I O N S O F F O R M A T I V E J U D A I S M


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C O N T E N T S

P R E F A C E x v

1 . S E T T L E D IS S U E S , N E G L E C T E D Q U E S T I O N S I N T H E S T U D Y O FF O R M A T I V E J U D A I S M 1

I . S e t t le d I ss u e s: 1 . F r o m J u d a i s m t o J u d a i s m s 2I I . S e tde d I s sues : 2 . F r o m H i s to r y to R e l i g i o n 8

I I I . N e g l e c t e d Q u e s t i o n s : 1 . D a t i n g D o c u m e n t s 1 5I V . N e g l e c t e d Q u e s t i o n s : 2 . E x e g e s i s o f t h e T a l m u d o f

B a by l o n i a ( the B av l i ) 1 72 . T H E Q U E S T I O N O F H I S T O R Y 2 4

I . D e f i n i n g t h e H i s t o r i c a l Q u e s t i o n o f R a b b i n i cJ u d a i s m 2 4I I . An I nter i o r Per s pec t i v e : 1 . The S c r i p tur a l R o o ts o fR a b b i n i c J u d a i s m 3 3

I I I . A n In t e r i o r P e r s p e c t iv e : 2 . T h e D o c u m e n t a r yH i s to r y o f I de as 4 1

I V . A n I n t e r i o r P e r s p e c t i v e : 3 . T h e P r e d o c u m e n t a r yH i s to r y o f S ys t em s o f I de as 4 5

V . A n E x t e r i o r P e r s p e c t iv e : 1 . T h e R e l a t i o n s h i pb e t w e e n t h e I d e a s T h a t P e o p l e H o l d a n d t h eS o c i a l W o r l d in W h i c h T h e y L i v e 5 3

V I . A n E x t e r i o r P e r sp e c ti v e: 2 . T h e E x t r a d o c u m e n t a r yC o n t e x t o f I d e a s P a g a n 5 9

V I I . A n E x t e r i o r P e r sp e c ti v e: 3 . T h e E x t r a d o c u m e n t a r yC o n t e x t o f I d e a s C h r i s t i a n 7 3

V I I I . T h e Q u es t i o n o f H i s to r y : W h at I s N o w at S take ? . .. . 903 . T H E Q U E S T I O N O F L I T E R A T U R E 9 4

I . D e f i n i n g t h e L i t e r a r y Q u e s t i o n o f R a b b i n i cJ u d a i s m 9 4

I I . T h e D o c u m e n t a r y S t a r t in g P o i n t: T h e D i s t i n c t iv e ,I n d i c a t i v e T r a i t s o f D o c u m e n t s 9 6


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I I I . T h e D o c u m e n t a r y C o n t e x t : A u t o n o m y ,C o n n e c t i o n , C o n t i n u i t y 9 9A . A u t o n o m y : D e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e T e x t o nI ts O w n 1 0 0B . C o n n e c t i o n : A n a l y s i s o f t h e T e x t in C o n t e x t

t h r o u g h C o m p a r i s o n a n d C o n t r a s t w i t hI n t e r s e c ti n g A f f i n e s 1 0 1

C . C o n t i n u i t y : I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e M a t r i x T h a tF o r m s o f t h e C a n o n i c a l T e x t s a C o h e r e n tS t a t e m e n t 1 0 1

D . I m a g i n i n g th e R a b b i n i c C a n o n : T o w a r d aG e n e r a l T h e o r y 1 0 1

I V . T h e Q u es t i o n o f L i te r a tur e : A . W h a t I s a t S take i nE s t a b l is h i n g t he D o c u m e n t a r y C o n t e x t ? L e a r n i n gH o w th e D o c u m e n t S u p p l i e s I ts O w n B e s tC o m m e n t a r y 1 0 5A . T h e C a s e o f t he M i s h n a h 1 0 6B . T h e T o p i c a l C o n s t r u c t i o n o f t he M i s h n a h a s aW h o l e 1 0 7C . T h e D i v i s i o n o f T o p i c s i n to T h e i r L o g i c a l ,

C o n s t it u e n t C o m p o n e n t s 1 0 7D . T h e D i v i s i o n o f P a r a g r a p h s i n t o S e n t e n c e s 1 0 7E . T h e L o g i c o f C o h e r e n t D i s c o u r se : H o w F o r m

Anal ys i s Po i nt s to the Co ns t r uc t i o n o f S y l l o g i s ms ,Y i e l d i n g C a s e s P r o d u c i n g R u l e s 1 0 8

F . H o w th e D o c u m e n t P r o d u c e s It s O w n B e s tC o m m e n t a r y 1 1 0

V . N o n d o c u m e n t a r y W r it in g : C o m p o s i t io n s a n dC o m p o s i t e s o f a n O t h e r - t h a n - D o c u m e n t a r yV e n u e 1 1 1A . H o w t o I d e n t i f y N o n d o c u m e n t a r y W r i t in g : T h e

S t a r t i n g P o i n t 1 1 7B . N o n d o c u m e n t a r y W r i ti n g : T h e C a s e o f t heB a v l i 1 1 9C . F r e e s t a n d i n g P e r i c o p e s F r a m e d w i t h o u t A n y

R e g a r d to D o c u m e n t a r y R e q u i r e m e n t s 1 2 2D . T h e H e r m e n e u t i cs o f t he D o c u m e n t a r y

H y p o t h e s i s 1 2 3


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V I . T h e Q u e s t i o n o f L i t e r a t u r e : B . W h a t I s a t S ta k ei n I d e n t i f y in g O t h e r - t h a n - D o c u m e n t a r y W r i t in ga n d I ts T r a i t s ? T h e P r e d o c u m e n t a r y H i s t o r y o fR a b b i n i c J u d a i s m 1 2 6

V I I . T h e Q u e s t i o n o f L i t e r a t u r e : C . O t h e r - t h a n -D o c u m e n t a r y W r i t i n g : T h e M a t t e r o f P r o p o r t i o na n d P u r p o s e 1 3 4A . D o c u m e n t a r y , N o n d o c u m e n t a r y , a n d

E x t r a d o c u m e n t a r y W r i t i n g : T h e C a s e o fGenesis Rabbah 1 3 81 . D o c u m e n t a r y W r i t i n g i n Genesis Rabbah 1 3 82 . N o n d o c u m e n t a r y W r i t in g i n Genesis Rabb ah .... 1 3 83 . E x t r a d o c u m e n t a r y W r i t in g i n Genesis

Rabbah 1 3 94 . T h e D o c u m e n t a r y C o m p l e x 1 3 9

B . D o N o n d o c u m e n t a r y C o m p o s i t i o n s M a t t e r ?1 . T h e N e g l i g i b l e P r o p o r t i o n o f F r e e s t a n d i n gS t o ri e s in R a b b i n i c D o c u m e n t s 1 3 9C . D o N o n d o c u m e n t a r y C o m p o s i ti o n s M a t t e r ?2 . T h e T a n g e n t i a l P o s i t i o n , i n D o c u m e n t a r yC o n t e x t , T h a t I s A s s i g n e d t o t h e F r e e s t a n d i n gC o m p o s i t i o n 1 4 0

V I I I . T h e Q u e s t i o n o f L i t e r a t u r e : W h a t I s N o w a tS t a k e ? 1 4 1A . A F r e s h , F o r m - A n a l y t i c a l E x e g e s i s o f t h eC a n o n i c a l D o c u m e n t s 1 4 1B . T h e P r e d o c u m e n t a r y H i s t o r y o f t he I d e a s S e t

F o r t h in t he C a n o n i c a l D o c u m e n t s 1 4 3C . V a l i d a t i n g th e D o c u m e n t a r y R e a d i n g o f t he

C a n o n a g a i n s t t h e N i h i l i s t i c D e n i a l T h a t W eP o s s e s s M o r e t h a n C o m p i l a t i o n s o f D i v e r s eR e a d i n g s o f T h i s a n d T h a t 1 4 4

D . W h e r e to B e g i n ? 1 4 51 . D e f i n i n g D o c u m e n t s o u t o f D i v e r s e

M a n u s c r i p t T e s t i m o n i e s 1 4 62 . C o n t e m p o r a r y C o m m e n t a r i e s o n C l a s s i c

D o c u m e n t s 1 4 63 . T h e P r e d o c u m e n t a r y H i s t o r y o f I d e a s 1 4 6


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4 . W h e r e T h e r e A r e N o M o d e l s , G o , D e f i n e aM o d e l b u t T h e n D o th e W o r k ! 1 4 7

4 . T H E Q U E S T I O N O F R E L I G I O N 1 4 8I . D e f i n i n g t he Q u e s t i o n o f R e l i g i o n f o r R a b b i n i c

J u d a i s m 1 4 8A . T h e R e l i g i o u s S t u d y o f R e l i g i o n in t h e C a s e o f

R a b b i n i c J u d a i s m 1 5 1B . T h e R e l i g i o u s S t u d y o f R e l i g i o n : T h e A n a l y t i c a l

P r o g r a m 1 5 4C . T h e H i s t o r i c a l S t u d y o f R e l i g i o n a n d th eR e l i g i o u s S t u d y o f R e l i g i o n : T h e D i f f e r e n c e s 1 5 6

I I . A n I n t e r i o r P e r s p e c t i v e : 1 . T h e C a t e g o r yF o r m a t i o n s of t he S y s t e m V i e w e d W h o l e t h eH a l a k h a h 1 5 7A . U n r e a l i z e d T h e o r i e s o f t h e H a l a k h i c C a t e g o r y

F o r m a t i o n 1 5 91 . T h e M i s h n a h ' s A n o m a l o u s T r a c t a t e s 1 5 92 . T h e M i s h n a h ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 6 03 . T h e T o s e f t a ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 6 04 . T h e Y e r u s h a l m i ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 6 15 . T h e B a v l i ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 6 1

B . T h e F o u r P l a u s ib l e T h e o r i e s o f C a t e g o r yF o r m a t i o n a n d th e O n e T h a t W a s C h o s e n 1 6 11 . O t h e r J u d a i c M o d e s o f C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o nb e s id e s t h e R a b b i n i c H a l a k h i c 1 6 22 . T h e G e n e r a t i v e L o g i c o f t he H a l a k h i c M o d e

o f C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o n 1 6 43 . T h e S e l f - E v i d e n c e o f A n a l y t i c a l - T o p i c a l

C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o n s Y i e l d e d b y H i e r a r c h i c a lC l a s s i f i c a t i o n : A N u l l H y p o t h e s i s 1 6 5

C . T e s t i n g t h e N u l l H y p o t h e s i s : T h e E x p a n s i o n o ft he H a l a k h a h t h e I d e n ti fi c at io n o f N e w T o p i c a lo r A n a l y t i c a l C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o n s 1 6 91 . T h e M i s h n a h ' s A n o m a l o u s T r a c t a t e s 1 6 92 . T h e M i s h n a h ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 7 0

I . N e w T o p i c s 1 7 0I I . N e w P r o p o s i t i o n s o r A n a l y t i c a l

P r i n c i p l e s 1 7 03 . T h e T o s e f t a ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 7 1


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I . N e w T o p i c s 1 7 1I I . New Pro po s i t io ns o r A na ly t ica l

Pr inc ip les 1724 . T h e Y e r u s h a l m i ' s A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 7 2I . N e w T o p i c s 1 7 2

I I . New Pro po s i t io ns o r A na ly t ica lP r i n c i p l e s 1 7 3

5 . T h e B a v l i 's A n o m a l o u s C o m p o s i t e s 1 7 3I . N e w T o p i c s 1 7 3

I I . New Pro po s i t io ns o r A na ly t ica lPr inc ip les 174

D . T h e R u l e s o f C h o o s i n g T o p i c s 1 7 41 . T h e C h i l d r e n o f N o a h : E x p l a i n i n g t he

C a t e g o r i c a l A n o m a l y 1 7 7E . W h y T h i s , N o t T h a t ? T h e P r e m i s e s a n d G o a l s

o f t he H ala kh ah in I ts C a t eg o r y Fo rm at io n s 18 0I I I . A n Int er io r Perspect ive : 2 . The Halakhic and

A g g a d i c C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o n s i n C o m p a r i s o n a n dC o n t r a s t 1 8 3A . T h e U s e s o f th e A g g a d a h b y t he H a l a k h a h 1 8 6B . A n I l lus t rat ive C a se : A g g ad ah in t he H ala kh ah

o f Taanit, t he Law o f Fas t ing in T imes o f C r i s i sand o f t he Vi l l ag e C o ho rt That Par t ic ipat es int he T e m p l e C u l t 1 8 81 . A g g a d i c C o m p o s i t i o n s i n M i s h n a h - T o s e f t a

Taanit 18 82 . A g g a d i c C o m p o s i t i o n s in Y e r u s h a l m i Taanit . . . 1953 . A g g a d i c C o m p o s i t i o n s i n B a v l i Taanit 1 9 64 . T h e A g g a d i c R o l e i n t h e H a l a k h i c D i s c o u r s e

o f Taanit 2 0 6C . A g g a d i c a n d H a l a k h i c I n c o m p a t i b i l i t y i n

C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o n s 2 0 7I V . A n E x t e r i o r P e r s p e c t i v e : T h e C o m p a r a t i v e S t u d y o fJ u d a i s m s t h e C a t e g o r y F o r m a t i o n s o f th e R a b b i n i c

S y s t e m in C o m p a r i s o n a n d C o n t r a s t to T h o s e o fO t h e r J u d a i c S y s te m s 2 0 9A . D e f i n i n g " I s r a e l " i n S y s t e m i c C o n t e x t 2 1 0B . I s ra e l in R a b b i n i c J u d a i s m : T h e T w o S t ag e s

in t he Fo rm at io n o f t he Ju d a is m o f theD u a l T o r a h 2 1 1


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C . I s r a e l i n t he M i s h n a h a n d C o m p a n i o nD o c u m e n t s 2 1 2

D. I s r ae l i n the S ec o nd Phas e i n the U nfo l d i ng o fR a b b i n i c J u d a i s m : T h e Y e r u s h a l m i a n d ItsC o m p a n i o n s , th e R a b b a h - M i d r a s h C o m p i l a t i o n sa n d t h e B a v l i 2 1 31 . R o m e a s B r o t h e r 2 1 42 . I s r a e l a s F a m i l y 2 1 5

E . A S o c i a l M e t a p h o r a n d a F i e ld T h e o r y o fS o c i e ty : I s r ae l and the S o c i a lC o n t r a c t C o m p a r i n g t he M i s h n a h ' s a n d th eY e r u s h a l m i ' s I s ra e l 2 1 5

F . I s r a e l a n d t he S o c i a l R u l e s o f J u d a i s m s 2 1 71 . T h e F ir st L a w : T h e s h a p e a n d m e a n i n g

i mputed to the s o c i a l c o mpo nent I s r ae l w i l lconform to the larger interes ts o f the sys temand i n deta i l expr es s the s ys tem's mai n po i nt .T h e c as e o f Pa u l an d I s r ae l a f te r the S p i r i t . .. . 2 1 8

2 . T h e S e c o n d L a w : W h a t a n I s r a e l is d e p e n d so n w h o w a n t s t o k n o w : P h i l o s o p h e r s i m a g i n ea ph i l o s o phi c a l I s r ae l , and po l i t i c i ans c o nc e i v ea po l i t ica l I s rae l . The cases o f Phi lo and o ft he l i b ra r y o f Q u m r a n 2 2 0

3 . T h e T h i r d L a w : T h e s y s t e m i c i m p o r t a n c e o fthe c a teg o r y I s r ae l depends o n the g ener at i v ep r o b l e m a t i c t h e u r g e n t q u e s t i o n o f t h esystem bui lders and not on thei r soc ia lc i r c ums tanc e . The p l ac e o f I s r ae l w i th i n thes e l f - ev ident l y t rue r es po n s e o f fe r ed by thes ys tem w i l l p r o v e c o ng r uent to the l o g i c o ft h e s y s t e m t h a t a l o n e . T h e c a s e s o f P a u l ,P h i l o , t h e l i b r a r y o f Q u m r a n , a n d t h eR a b b i n i c s ag e s o f t h e M i s h n a h , T a l m u d s ,a n d M i d r a s h 2 2 3

4 . T h e H y p o t h e s i s : T h e s y s t e m b u i l d e r s ' s o c i a l( i nc l ud i ng po l i t i c a l ) c i r c ums tanc e de f i nes theg e n e r a t i v e p r o b l e m a t i c t h a t i m p a r t sse l f -ev idence to the sys temical ly def ini t ivel o g i c, e n c o m p a s s i n g its s o c i al c o m p o n e n t .


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T h e c a s e s o f P a u l , t h e l i b r a r y o f Q p m r a n ,a n d t h e R a b b i n i c s a g e s o f t h e M i s h n a h ,T a l m u d s , a n d M i d r a s h 2 2 6G . R e p r i s e o f t h e M a t t e r o f S e l f - E v i d e n c e 2 2 7

V . T h e Q u e s t i o n o f R e l i g i o n : W h a t I s N o w a t S t a k e ? ... 2 3 0B I B L I O G R A P H Y 2 3 3


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P R E F A C E

I n s us ta i ned wo r k o v er near l y a ha l f c entur y , I hav e taken the mea-s u r e o f f o r m a t i v e R a b b i n i c J u d a i s m i n its i n it ia l c a n o n i c a l s t a t em e n t ,f r o m t h e M i s h n a h ( 2 0 0 C . E . ) t h r o u g h t h e B a v l i ( 6 0 0 C . E . ) . T h i si nq u i r y has i nv o l v ed that J u d a i s m 's h i s to r y , l i t e ra tur e , r e l i g i o n , a ndtheo l o g y . H er e I a s k what q ues t i o ns I deem s e tded and what q ues -t i o ns demand a t tent i o n . W hat c o nc er ns me ar e no t the s uc c es s es butt h e f a i l u r e s . T h e s e a d d r e s s m a t t e r s o f f u n d a m e n t a l c o n c e p t i o n a n di mag i nat i o n and l o g i c . S o I a s k , s ee i ng mat ter s who l e and i n r e t r o -s pec t : a t what po i nt s hav e we ye t to f ac e unkno wn, and per hapsunkno wabl e , i s s ues o f des c r i p t i o n , ana l ys i s , and i n ter pr e ta t i o n o f thef o r m a t i o n o f w h a t b e c a m e t h e n o r m a t i v e J u d a i s m ; a n d w h a t l o g ichav e we ye t to pur s ue beyo nd the e l ementar y s teps ?

I

Thi s bo o k beg an i n two c o nv er s a t i o ns , bo th i n the pr es enc e o f death ,t h a t n e v e r r a n t h e i r c o u r s e . T h e o n e w a s w i t h E r w i n R . G o o d e n o u g h ,the o ther wi th H ar r y A . W o l f s o n , the two g r eates t s c ho l ar l y per s o n-a l i t i e s I h a v e k n o w n w e l l . W h e n G o o d e n o u g h l a y d y i n g , s o m e t h i r t y -f ive years ago , I ca l led on him and asked him to spel l out some o fthe pr o b l e m s he w o u l d take up if he w er e g i v en m o r e t ime a nd ho whe would so lve them. I sought h is perspect ive on learning . I was tooyo ung to under s tand why , under the c i r c ums tanc e , th i s i s no t whathe wanted to d i s c us s wi th me . A few year s l a te r , i n a c o mpar ab l e c i r -c ums tanc e , I t r i ed to enc o ur ag e W o l f s o n to s pec u l a te a l o ng the s amel i nes : " W hat q ues t i o ns hav e yo u s e t t l ed , what q ues t i o ns hav e yo uneg l ec ted?" At that mo ment the ans wer s wer e no t h i g h o n h i sag enda . I n bo th i ns tanc es I meant to e l i c i t s o me g u i danc e f r o m expe-rienced, ac co m pl ish ed scholars , som e sense o f ho w scho lars see thei rr es u l t s who l e and i n per s pec t i v e . I was l o o k i ng fo r mo de l s o f i mag i -nat i o n . N e i ther o c c as i o n pr o v ed o ppo r tune ; I had as ked to o l a te . B utat that t ime I put in my mind the not ion that i f and when I reachedold age , whi le s t i l l ab le and v i ta l , I would take a moment to s tand


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back and take stock o f what is to be done. As I approach my seven-t ieth b ir thd ay , J u l y 28 , 20 0 2, I wish to think abo ut the futu re o f learn-ing in my chosen f ield of study.I take as my model in this quest for perspective the f inal issue ofthe Journal of the Am erican Academy of Religion u n d e r t h e d e c a d e - l o n g( 1 9 8 5 - 1 9 9 5 ) a n d r e m a r k a b l e e d it or s hi p o f W i l l ia m S c o t t G r e e n . T h i slast corporate statement o f h is he devoted to d iscuss ions by specia l is t sconcerning the set t ied quest ions and open quest ions in the academicstudy o f re l ig ion. Each wrote about his or her f ie ld , and I wrote ont he a c a d e m i c s tu d y o f f o r m a t i v e J u d a i s m . C h a p t e r O n e r e c a p it u l at e s ,with important delet ions and revis ions , my contr ibut ion to that sym-posium. And the chapters that form the heart o f the book address thes a m e p r o g r a m .

What are at s take here are the ways not yet taken, perhaps in someinst ances no t even imag ined . These f a i lurespro blems no t ye t so lved ,not even addressed at a l l !entai l not matters o f deta i l nor famil iartheses st i l l requir ing re f inement . Correct ions o f fact or reasoningcome about through the s low but exceedingly f ine gr inding o f thew hee l s o f scho larsh ip . These chapt ers po int t o f a i lures no t o f percep-t ion but o f concept ion, and here I mean to correct at least some ofthem. I do so by asking the same quest ions in address ing studies o ffo rm at ive Ju d a i sm , i ts h i s t o ry , l i t e ra t ure , re lig io n : w h at q uest io ns doI t h ink are se t ded , and w hich o nes do I reco mmend fo r f ur t herinquiry? At stake in the answers are new perspect ives , a f resh rangeo f l a rg e pro b lems aw ai t ing a t t ent io n .

I IT h e f o r m a t i v e a g e o f n o r m a t i v e , R a b b i n i c J u d a i s m i s r e c o r d e d in th et exts o f t hat Ju d a is m t hat ha ve surv ived . T h er e i s no o t her so urce t hatat tests to that system in a l l i t s d ist inct iveness . Among the approachest o R ab bi n i c Ju d a is m in t he first six cent ur ies C . E . , I have l imi t edmysel f to the four pr incipal academic disc ipl ines that serve in thestudy o f a re l ig ion access ib le to us only in documents , pr incipal lythose composing i t s canonthat is , the history , l i terature , re l ig ion,and theology that the study o f the canon y ie lds . The log ica l move-ment is f rom context and history to text and l i terature , to matr ix andreligion, and f inal ly to systematics and theology. In this book I dealonly with history , l i terature , and re l ig ion.


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H I S T O R Y : I n the enc o unter wi th the c ano ni c a l do c uments o f fo r -m a t i v e J u d a i s m , w e b e g i n w i t h th e r e c o g n i t io n t h a t o u r d o c u m e n t sa t tes t to a par t i c u l a r t i me and p l ac e and c i r c ums tanc e . They fo r mevents , each on i t s own, in an inte l lec tual and soc ia l context . S i tuat ingthe documents in h is torythat i s , f inding thei r secular context ini nte l l ec t and s o c i e tythen , fo r ms the i n i t i a l l abo r o f l ear n i ng .

L I T E R A T U R E : B ut th i s r eq u i r es mo r e than mer e l y par aphr as i ng , i no ur nar r a t i v e , h i s to r i c a l l ang uag e , what the do c uments s ay i n the i rl ang uag e o f l aw, l o r e , exeg es i s , ana l ys i s , d i a l ec t i c s , o r exho r ta t i o n . I tdemands that we fo r m an ac c o unt fo r o ur s e l v es o f the c har ac ter o fthe l i terary ev idence : how does the way th ings are sa id s ignal them e a n i n g a n d p u r p o s e o f w h a t is sa i d ?

R E L I G I O N : A n d g i v e n t h e p r o g r a m o f t h o s e d o c u m e n t s , d e v o t e d a sthey are to quest ions o f re l ig ion, some not ion o f the re l ig ious wor ldthat pr o duc ed and pr i v i l eg ed tho s e wr i t i ng s i s r eq u i r ed . The s ys temsand s tructures o f re l ig ious construct ions o f the soc ia l order (whetheri n theo r y , whether ev en i n pr ac t i c e ) r eq u i r e pr o po r t i o nate des c r i p t i o n ,ana l ys i s , and i n ter pr e ta t i o n .

T H E O L O G Y : N O W , r e l i g i o n wi tho ut theo l o g y r emai ns i nc ho ate , am a s s o f r a n d o m i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e o l o g y i n c o n t e x t m e a n s t h i n k i n gphi losophical ly about re l ig ion: seeking to d iscern the inner s t ructureso f i deas and ho w they c o her e , a t tempt i ng to s ta te the fo undat i o ns , i ndeep s t r uc tur es o f the mi nd , o f the app l i ed r eas o n and pr ac t i c a l l o g i cthat come to express ion in the deta i l s o f re l ig ious bel ie f and behav ior .

So , s tar t ing with an interes t in h is tory inc lus ive o f cul ture , we pro-ceed natural ly to an analys i s o f the ar t i fac ts o f h is tor ica l cul ture , thento thei r messages , and f inal ly to the compos i t ion and construct ion thatt h o s e m e s s a g e s c o m p r i s e .

As i t happens , thes e thr ee d i s c i p l i nes i n the i r l o g i c a l o r der hi s to r y ,l i t e r a tur e , r e l i g i o nas we l l a s the o mi t ted o ne , theo l o g y , a l s o r ec a-pi tu late the s tory o f my success ive scholar ly phases to date . Thesephas es o v er l ap . I beg an as a h i s to r i an wi th a b i o g r aphy and then asys temat ic h is tory , proceeded to work in the analys i s o f the l i teratureo f fo r m at i v e J u d a i s m , m o v ed o n to the s tudy o f the r e l ig i o us s ys temand s t r uc tur e that an i mated tho s e do c uments , and then to o k up a s e to f theo l o g i c a l c o ns t r uc t i o ns that i mpar t c o her enc e to tho s e s amed o c u m e n t s .

I no w p l an to take up a mas s i v e new pr o b l em, s o th i s r e t r o s pec tmarks the conc lus ion o f s izable exerc ises in a lmost f i f ty years o f ac t ives c ho l ar s h i p . W h at fo l l o ws wi l l m ak e it s pr es e nc e k no wn i n due c o ur s e .


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I I I

A br i e f g l i mps e a t ho w thes e phas es hi s to r y , l i t e r a tur e , r e l i g i o n , the-o l o g y h a v e u n f o l d e d i n m y o e u v r e m a y p r o v e o f i n t e r e s t , s o l e t m ebr i e f l y s um m ar i z e the m ai n l i nes o f m y s c ho l ar l y l if e , m atc h i n g ther ubr i c s o f the b i b l i o g r aphy pr o v i ded a t the end o f th i s bo o k .

M y w o r k fo r the pas t five dec ade s has pu r s u ed a s i ng le p r o b l e m ,w h i c h is t o e x p l a i n h o w J u d a i s m a s w e k n o w t h a t r e li g io n c a m e i n tobe i ng . I hav e wanted to ac c o unt fo r i t s s uc c es s when and wher e i tsucceeded in i t s soc ia l goals and to expla in the condit ions o f i t s fa i l -ure w h en i t d id not . W hi le a f ie ld th eo ry o f the h is tory o f Ju d a is m ,f r o m b e g i n n i n g t o p r e s e n t , h a s i n d e e d e m e r g e d , m y p r i n c i p a l i n t e r -es t , f rom beginning to present , has been in the format ive age , the f i r s ts ix c e n t u r i e s C . E . , f r o m th e d e s t ru c t i o n o f t h e J e r u s a l e m T e m p l e a n dIsrae l i te po l i ty in 70 to the I s lamic reconstruct ion o f the Near andM i dd l e Eas t i n the s ev enth c entur y . I t was be tween tho s e two ax i a lev ents that the bo o ks c ame to c l o s ur e . Thes e to g ether wi th S c r i p tur e( " th e O l d T e s t a m e n t " ) f o r m t h e d e f i n i ti v e c a n o n o f J u d a i s m a s w ekn o w i t. T h e c an o n s e t fo r th in wr i t ten fo r m the J u d a i c w a y o f l i fe ,wor ldv iew, and theory o f the soc ia l ent i ty that i t ca l led I s rae l .

The wo r k o f des c r i p t i o n , ana l ys i s , and i n ter pr e ta t i o n has c ar r i edme ac r o s s the fo ur i nd i c a ted ac ademi c d i s c i p l i nes wi th i n the s tudy o fr e l i g i o n , i n an o v er l ap p i n g s e q u en c e (1 ) h i s to r y , (2) l i t e r a tur e , (3 )(his tory o f) re l ig ion , an d (4) the o lo gy , as I h av e no w sugg ested. O nwhat fo undat i o ns hav e I do ne th i s q u i te s ec u l ar wo r k? I c o nc e i v e r e l i -g ion to be acc ess ib le to th is -wo r ld ly s tud y wh en it i s v i ew ed a s anac c o unt o f the s o c i a l o r der and the s ta tement o f a c u l tur a l s ys tem,and the pr o b l em o f s tudy i ng r e l i g i o n , i n my v i ew, i s to exp l a i n ther e l a t i o ns h i p between the r e l i g i o us i deas that peo pl e ho l d and thes o c i a l wo r l d that they c r ea te fo r thems e l v es .

T o d o t his l i t e ra r y - a n a l y t i c a l w o r k , I h a v e t ra n s l a t e d R a b b i n i cJ uda i s m's c ano ni c a l bo o ks i n to Eng l i s h , many fo r the f i r s t t i me , s o mef o r t h e s e c o n d : t h e M i s h n a h , T o s e f t a , T a l m u d o f t h e L a n d o f I s r a e l ,Ta l mud o f B aby l o n i a , and a l l o f the s c o r e o f c o mpi l a t i o ns o f s c r i p -tur a l exeg es i s , c a l l ed M i dr as h i m, that c ame to c l o s ur e i n l a te ant i q -u i ty , do w n to the adv en t o f I s l am i n the s ev enth c entu r y C . E . M ytrans lat ions have prov ided a l l o f the documents wi th thei r f i r s t re fer -enc e s ys tem (eq u i v a l ent to S c r i p tur e ' s c hapter and v er s e ) , s o thatfo r m- ana l y t i c a l s tud i es o f the way i n whi c h the do c uments make the i r


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s t a t ement co u ld g e t under w ay . I have fur t her read each do cumentas a coherent statement of a theory of ( its) Israel 's social order (Ica l l ed i t " sys t em") and asked abo ut t he w o r ldv iew , w ay o f l i f e , andtheory of the social entity that each writ ing set forth. Finally, I havepro v id ed a sys t emat ic acc o un t o f t he fo rm at ive h i s to ry o f Ju d a is m asa problem in the history o f re l ig ions , speci f ica l ly , the problem of howthe re l ig ion that people pract ice together re lates to the world in whichthey l ive.

Af ter my three dut i fu l but inte l lectual ly undist inguished under-g r a d u a t e y e a r s a t H a r v a r d C o l l e g e a n d a p o s t b a c c a l a u r e a t e f o u r t hyear o verseas a t Oxfo rd Univers i t y , I d i sco vered my mt ie r andbeg an m y l i fe ' s w o rk in O ct o be r 19 5 4 , w h en I re t urned t o t he U ni t e dS t a te s f r o m a y e a r a t O x f o r d a n d e n t e r e d th e J e w i s h T h e o l o g i c a lSeminary o f A mer ica . There , in t he beg inning o f t hat mo nt h , I metthe most interest ing piece o f writ ing I have ever studied, the Talmudof Babylonia (Bavl i ) , and was converted to i t s inte l lectual d isc ipl ine .I t i s a s t range k ind o f writ ing , compel l ing but e l l ipt ica l , requir ingact ive engagement in the reconstruct ion o f i t s d iscourse out o f i t s s ignsand s ignals . I decided I would spend my l i fe t ry ing to take i t apartand put it together again so as to f ind out precisely how it worked.Fro m t hen t o no w I have w a lked an abso lut e ly unsw erv ing pat h , eachstep forward the log ica l outcome of the step before .

B e fo re t hat t ime , t hro ug ho ut my educat io n , I had f o und everyt h ingeasy , o bv io us , and bo r ing . B ut o ne co urse a t Harvard t ru ly kept t hepro mise t o educat e , and t hat made a l l t he d i f f e rence . I t w as Leo nardN a s h a n d T h o m a s S . K u h n ' s g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n c o u r s e i n t h e a r e a o fthe history o f experimental sc ience , later on y ie ld ing Kuhn's c lass ic ,The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. F r o m K u h n a n d N a s h I l e a r n e dabout the negotiabil ity of learning, the possibil it ies of more than a sin-g le construct ion o f data , more than the establ ished system and st ruc-t ure t o impart co herence and co nseq uence t o f act s . Tho se w ere jus tt he l e sso ns needed t o dec ipher t he R abbin ic l i t e ra t ure o f t he fo rma-tive ag e o f Ju d a is m , par t icula r ly the T a lm u d . Bu t at that time, in thefa l l o f 19 5 0 , I ha d never hear d o f t he T a l m u d , no r d id I kno w m uc hm o r e H e b r e w t h a n t h e a l p h a b e t a n d s o m e s i m p l e g r a m m a r . T h e nwhere , outs ide the laboratory , was I to f ind that rea lm of conf l ictso ver appl ied reaso n and pract ica l lo g ic t hat mat ched my nat ura l pre f -erence for the concrete over the abstract , but a lso the consequent ia lo ver t he se l f -va l idat ing f act ? Fo ur year l a t e r I fo und my answ er . The


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r e l i g i o n . I tur ned to the h i s to r y- o f - r e l i g i o ns s tudy o f R abb i n i c J uda i s min i t s format ive wr i t ings , wi th emphas is upon i ts ideas . I had to dev isea pr o g r a m o f i nq u i r y in to r e l i g io n an d a m ea ns o f ac c o m pl i s h i ng thatpr o g r am. Fo r the pr o g r am, I d r ew upo n the r ead i ng o f r e l i g i o n as ac u l tur a l s ys tem and adapted i deas i n c i r c u l a t i o n wi th the c o nc ept i o no f " a J u d a i s m . " B y th is I m ea nt a r e l ig i o us s ys tem o f the s o c i a l o r d erinv olv ing a w a y o f l i fe , w or ld v ie w , an d theo ry o f the soc ia l ent i ty thatc ar r i ed o ut the o ne and exp l a i ned i t s e l f (who be l o ng s , who do es no tbe l o ng ) by appea l to the o ther .

But what sor t o f h is tory o f the re l ig ion at hand did I conceive plau-s ib le? As I grasped the l i terary s t ructure and conceptual sys tem ofdo c uments and beg an to s ee ho w o ne do c ument r e l a ted to o ther s , If o r m e d a th e o r y o f t he c h a r a c t e r o f t h e J u d a i s m t h a t t h e d o c u m e n t s ,eac h i n i t s way , addr es s ed o r r e - pr es ented i n c o ntext . I r ead the s uc -c es s i v e do c uments , f r o m the M i s hnah to the B av l i , w i th i n the i n ter -pr e ta t i v e mo de l o f a r e l i g i o us s ys tem, and then c o mpo s ed what Ica l led "a documentary h is tory o f ideas" out o f the resul ts o f sys temicc o m pa r i s o n a nd c o nt r as t . M y w o r k i n the h i s to r y o f r e l i g io n wi th s pe-c ia l e m p h a s i s u p o n f o r m a t i v e J u d a i s m , m o r e o v e r , r e q u i r e d s e tt in g inh i s to r ic a l c o ntex t a mu l t ip l i c it y o f J u d a i c s ys tems bes i des the R ab b i n i co ne that has pr e do m i na ted . T h a t e f fo r t d i d y i e l d the fie ld the o r y o ft h e h is t o ry o f J u d a i s m t h a t I h a d h o p e d t o f o r m u l a t e .

B ut , by no w pr ed i c tab l y , the th i r d per i o d a l s o c o nta i ned wi th i ni t s e l f the beg i nn i ng s o f a fo ur th , the per i o d dev o ted to her meneut i c sand shading over , in due course , into the f i f th , theo logy, which I havejus t no w c o mpl e ted . Fr o m the l a te r ' 80s to the l a te '90s , I s haped as e t o f i nq u i r i e s i n to the her meneut i c s o f the two Ta l muds i n par t i c u-l a r . I fu r ther mo r e keep i n v i ew a br o ader , no w s ys temat i c theo l o g i c a li n ter es t . W hat I wanted to kno w thr o ug h the deta i l ed exami nat i o n o fp r o b l e m s o f s t ru c t u r e a n d s y s t e m h e r m e n e u t i c s o f a c o n c r e t eo r der i s ho w the i n te l l ec t s who s e wr i t i ng s I s tudy made c o nnec t i o nsand dr ew c o nc l us i o ns , what theo r y o f mi nd to l d them what theywished to know and how to f ind i t out . In th is quest for an explana-tio n o f the pr i nc i p l es o f s e l f - ev i denc e that g o v er n i n J u d a i s m , I pr o -d u c e d a c o m m e n t a r y t o b o t h T a l m u d s , a l o n g t h e w a y a l s o r e v i s i n gmy pr i o r t r ans l a t i o ns , and to the l a r g e s t r uc tur es o f the M i dr as h c o m-pi lat ions o f l ate ant iqui ty . For a re l ig ious sys tem works out , in vas tdeta i l , a few s imple ideas . In the pr inc iples o f se lect ion and exeges isthe maki ng o f c o nnec t i o ns and dr awi ng o f c o nc l us i o ns that , i n the


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c a s e o f J u d a i s m , e m b o d y t he f a i t h ' s a p p l i e d lo g i c a n d p r a c t i c a l r e a -s o n G o d l i v e s .

The f i f th per i o d , 1 994 2 001 , mo v ed f r o m the r es u l t s o f th i s r a thers i zab l e pr o jec t i n her meneut i c s to take up , fo r s ys temat i c theo l o g i c a lpurposes , the resul ts o f th is s tudy o f inte l lec tual problems. I ident i f iedw h a t I c o n c e i v e t o f o r m th e p r i m a r y , c o g e n t R a b b i n i c t h e o l o g ic a ls tructure . I l a id heavy emphas is upon i ts generat ive log ic and i t s cat-e g o r y f o r m a t i o n s , a s t h e s e c a t e g o r y f o r m a t i o n s s u s t a i n e d b o t h l a w a n dl o r e , a c t i o n a n d a t t it u d e , H a l a k h a h a n d A g g a d a h . T h i s is t h e w o r kt h a t h a s b e e n c o m p l e t e d . C o m i n g t o t h e e n d m a d e u r g e n t t h e q u e s -t i o n ans wer ed i n thes e pag es : wher e no w? I n thes e pag es the l o g i c a lans wer bec o mes c l ear : a l a r g e pr o b l em o f l i t e r a tur e awa i t s s ys temat i ca t tent i o n , bear i ng i n i t s wake i mpl i c a t i o ns fo r h i s to r i c a l and r e l i g i o uss t u d y o f f o r m a t i v e J u d a i s m in its c a n o n i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . T h e q u e s -tion i s, w ha t o f a no n - o r ex t r a do c u m en ta r y r ea d i n g o f the s am ec a n o n ? T h a t is w h a t I n o w t a k e u p .

I VI bene f i t ed f r o m c o nv er s a t i o ns o n th i s pr o jec t wi th Pr o fes s o r W i l l i amS c o t t G r e e n , U n i v e r s i t y o f R o c h e s t e r , f o r w h i c h I e x p r e s s to h i m m ythanks .

J a c o b N e u s n e rB a r d C o l l e g e


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C H A P T E R O N ES E T T L E D I S S U E S , N E G L E C T E D Q U E S T I O N S I N T H E

S T U D Y O F F O R M A T I V E J U D A I S M

Here I exempl i fy both s ides o f the thought-problem taken up in thisbook: what do I th ink we now know, and what do I th ink is worthtry ing to f ind out? That is what I mean by the three quest ionshis-t o ry , l i te ra t ure , re l ig io n o f fo rm at ive Ju d a i sm . H ere I beg in w i t hwhat I mean by a setded issue and a neg lected quest ion. I o f fer twoex am ple s o f eac h. T w o set t led issues, in m y ju dg m en t , are , first, thatfor ant iquity we deal with data der iv ing f rom a number o f d ist inctJu d a ic sys tems o f t he so c ia l o rde r , o r Ju da ism s , an d , seco nd , t hatthe pr incipal focus o f learning is no longer history but re l ig ion{Religionswissenschaft, Religionsgeschichte). Tw o o pen q uest io ns a re t hat t het heo ry f o r t he dat ing o f do cument s remains t o be debat ed and t hatt he co nt empo rary exeg es i s o f t he B av l i in an academic f ramew o rkand in acco rd w i t h t he pro g ram o f inq uiry charact er i s t i c o f t heW est ern humani t ie s has beg un in o n ly a pr imit ive w ay .

The q uest io ns I deem se t ded t o day preo ccupy so me, but mo stscho larsh ip ackno w ledg es t he d ivers i t y o f t he dat a co ncern ing Juda-ism, and much learning concerns i t se l f with re l ig ious ideas and inst i -tut ions rather than with pol i t ica l events as in the past . So by "set t led , "I mean t hat t he prepo nderance o f l earn ing has sh i f t ed , no t t hat noone is doing what I think of l imited interest and uti l ity.

On the other hand, I too share in the neglect of the latter two, then e g l e c t e d q u e s t i o n s . T h e s e d a t i n g d o c u m e n t s , c o n t e m p o r a r y e x e g e -s is o f pr incipal documentsdo not f igure in the program I lay out int h is bo o k . I have co ncent ra t ed o n pro b lems o f R abbin ic re l ig io n andculture and have re l ied on the exist ing consensus for dates for docu-ments , on the one s ide , and for deta i led exegesis o f words andphrases , on the other . While these therefore are not quest ions onw hich I have w o rked , t hey do sho w ho w o ne mig ht ask and answ ereven t he mo st fundament a l , pro g rammat ic q uest io ns o f l earn ing .

In the substant ive chapters that fo l low, I set forth further


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real izat ions o f the same task with spec ia l re ference to i s sues I f indbo th ur g ent and c o ng enia l : q ues t io ns I hav e beg un to ans w er .

I . S E T T L E D IS S U E S : 1 . F R O M J U D A I S M T O J U D A I S M S

A c ademic l ear n ing no l o ng er takes s e r io us l y the pr o po s i t io n that ther eis no w , o r ev er in h i sto r y has bee n , a s ing le J u d a i s m that de f ines then o r m b y w h i c h a l l a l l e g a t i o n s a b o u t w h a t " J u d a i s m " o r " t h e T o r a h "t e a c h e s o r i m a g i n e s a r e m e a s u r e d . B o o k s o n J u d a i s m in t h e f o r m a -tive a g e that po s i t a s ing l e , no r m at iv e J u d a i s m g r o w few er , an d tho s et h a t a n a l y z e r a t h e r t h a n sy n t h e s iz e J u d a i c d a t a m u l t i p l y . M o r e o v e r ,d ismiss ing as heret ica l or sectar ian the bodies o f ev idence that do notc o nf o r m to the l aw o r theo l o g y o f that o f f i c i a l J u d a i s m , in the m an -n e r o f G e o r g e F . M o o r e o r E p h r a i m . U r b a c h , n o l o n g e r g a i n s as er io us hear ing o uts ide the R abbin ic a l s c ho o l s and the i r s ec u l arnat io na l - e thnic c o unter par t s o v er s eas . A nd ev en ther e w e f ind s t i r -r ings of doubt.

F ur ther mo r e , and mo r e dec i s i v e l y s t i l l , t ex tbo o ks that pur po r t todescr ibe such a s ing le official J u d a i s m r a r e l y a r e a d o p t e d ; t h e y g o o u to f p r i n t . B u t t e x t b o o k s t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a t e a m o n g J u d a i s m s g o f r o mpr int in g to pr int ing . So the c o m in g g ene r at io n i s ed uc a ted to dea lwith the complexi t ies o f the data . Disser tat ions on such a theoret i -c a l f o u n d a t i o n a s a s in g le J u d a i s m e v e r y w h e r e p a r a m o u n t r a r e l yare wr i t ten, and their authors se ldom f ind secular pos i t ions . In a l l ,t h e f a b r i c a t i o n , f o r d e s c r ip t i v e p u r p o s e s , o f " n o r m a t i v e J u d a i s m " o r" O r t h o d o x J u d a i s m " f o r la te a n ti q u it y n o w a d a y s m e e t s w i th n o t s om uc h inc r edu l i ty as s heer ind i f f e r en c e . E f fo r t s to r es p o nd to the m ul -tip licity o f J u d a i s m s take the p l a c e o f a sing le J u d a i s m , an d w h eth ert h e s e a p p e a l t o t h e l o w e s t c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r o r a l l e g e w h a t w a ses s ent ia l to a ll J u d a i s m s , they r es p o n d to the ne w ep i s teme: no t

J u d a i s m b u t J u d a i s m s .U nt i l the r ec ent pas t , that i s no t ho w mat ter s hav e been . In s tand-

a r d u s a g e in st il l- in - p ri n t m o n o g r a p h s i n v o l v i n g b o t h J u d a i s m a n dC h r i s t i a n i t y , th e w o r d " J u d a i s m " s e r v e d to s i g n i f y p r e t t y m u c h w h a t -ev er the us er w ants and to s tand fo r , impo s e i t s e l f upo n , the ent i r e tyo f t h e d a t a p r o d u c e d b y " t h e J e w s " o r t he si n g le r e li g i o n , J u d a i s m .Thi s unc l ar i ty no t o n l y do es no t c o ns ig n the w o r d to des uetude ; i ts ec ur es fo r i t w id e us ag e . T h e r e l i g io n c o nta ined in the ho l y bo o k s o f


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I s rae l , the ho ly people (a theo log ica l construct) , f rom the nineteenthc en tur y i n the W es t c am e to be c a l l ed J u d a i s m , the nat i v e c a te g o r yf o r m o s t J u d a i s m s b e i n g " t h e T o r a h . " F r o m t he b e g i n n i n g o fC h r i s t i a n i t y , i t b e c a m e i m p o r t a n t f o r C h r i s t i a n s t o d e f i n e t h e m s e l v e si n c o mpar i s o n wi th , and c o nt r as t to , the c o r pus o f f a i th that r e jec tedt h e i r c l a i m s , t h u s " J u d a i s m " a s a g a i n s t " C h r i s t i a n i t y . " A n d t o t h i sd a y , " J u d a i s m " s e r ve s a s a c r it ic a l a n a l y t i c a l c a t e g o r y f o r N e w T e s t a -m e n t s c h o l a r s h i p .

A c c o r d i n g l y , t h a t r e li g io n , J u d a i s m , w a s c o n c e i v e d t o f o r m a n -ism,that i s , a s ys temat i c and o r der l y c o ns t r uc t i o n o f i deas abo ut funda-m e n t a l m a t t e r s . I f w e w i s h e d t o k n o w w h a t J u d a i s m w a s , w e h a d t oo p e n t h e h o l y b o o k s a n d f i n d o u t . W h e r e w e f o u n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s f o r e x a m p l e , G o d is r e p r e se n t e d b o t h a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c a l l y a n d n o t the c o nf l i c t w as r es o l v ed i n o ne o f thr ee w ay s . E i th er (ver y c o m m o n l y)one text was normat ive , the other sectar ian; or (rare ly) the i s sue wasdism issed as on e on w hi ch J u d a is m took no pos i t ion at a l l ; or (a lsoc o mmo nl y) the c o nt r ad i c t i o n was i g no r ed , wi th the c l a i m that thees s enti a l o f J u d a i s m w as be l i e f i n o ne G o d , an d t r iv i a l de ta i ls c o n-c e r n i n g h o w G o d w a s s u p p o s e d t o b e r e p r e s e n t e d ( t h o u g h t a b o u t ,known) were to be d ismissed (o f ten in the se l f -ev idendy spur ious , se l f -s e r v in g c l a im ' J u d a i s m h a s n o t h e o l o g y " w h a t e v e r t h at c a n e v e rh a v e m e a n t ) . T h i s s a m e J u d a i s m , o f c o u r s e , h a d a h i s t o ry , b e g i n n i n gfo r the f a i th fu l a t S i na i wi th G o d ' s r ev e l a t i o n o f the T o r a h to M o s es ,o r beg i nn i ng fo r the s ec u l ar - mi nded wi th Ezr a ' s wr i t i ng up o f theT o r a h bo o k o ut o f the r ec e i v ed t r ad i t io ns (a m uc h le ss c o m m o no pt i o n) ; that h i s to r y was s i ng l e , har mo ni o us , un i ta r y , i nc r ementa l ,a n d t r a d it i on a l . W e c o u l d t h e r e f o r e sp e a k o f o n e J u d a i s m , w i t h v a r i -a t i o ns and exc l us i o ns , and a t any g i v en po i nt de ter mi ne what was o l da n d w h a t w a s n e w i n t h at J u d a i s m .

B o o k s a b o u t t h a t J u d a i s m g e n e r a t e d c o n f l ic t ; i ss ue s c o n c e r n i n g t h ede f i n i t i o n o f the no r mat i v e , the s e l ec t i o n o f c ano ni c a l wr i t i ng s , thed i s po s i ti o n o f s o ur c es o ut o f h ar m o n y w i th the m ai n l i nes de f i ne d s uc hdebate as to o k p l ac e . I n the c o ntext o f c o ntempo r ar y theo l o g i c a ld e b a t e b e t w e e n J u d a i s m s , R e f o r m a c c o u n t s o f J u d a i s m c o n t r a d ic t e dO r tho do x o nes , o f c o ur s e , and the l a t te r den i ed to the fo r mer thes tand i ng o f authent i c i ty , ev en whi l e the fo r mer appea l ed to " h i s to r y"t o p r o v e t h a t c h a n g e h a d p r e c e d e n t s , r e f o r m w a s l e g i t i m a t e , a n d R e -f o r m J u d a i s m c a m e fo r t h a s a n a t u r a l o u t c o m e o f a " s t r e a m " o r " c u r -r ent " i n the un i ta r y , har mo ni o us , h i s to r i c a l , ther e fo r e autho r i ta t i v e


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a n d a u th e n t i c J u d a i s m . T h e u p s h o t w a s , p o l e m i c s r e p l a c e d p r o b i t y .P o li ti cs o v e r w h e l m e d l e a r n i n g . T h u s , i f y o u k n e w w h o p a i d a s c h o l a r ,y o u a l s o k n e w w h a t h e t h o u g h t a b o u t a n y t h i n g o f c o n s e q u e n c e , n o tto s ay what meet i ng s he a t tended , wher e he pub l i s hed h i s bo o ks andart ic les ( i f any) , and what he ate , or d id not eat , for breakfas t .

B u t the i ss ue o f a s i ngl e J u d a i s m i nv o l v ed a s ec u l ar c o m po ne nt aswe l l : a s i ng le J e w i s h peo pl e ( r ea l i zed i n due c o ur s e i n the fo u nd i ng o fthe Je w is h s tate , the s tate o f I s rae l) . S o in ano th er ar en a a l tog eth er ,Z i o n i s t h is t o ri a n s w r o t e t h e h i s t o ry o f " t h e J e w i s h p e o p l e , " m e a n i n go ne , c o her ent s o c i a l ent i ty , w i th a s i ng l e , l i near , i nc r ementa l , un i ta r yh i s to r y ; per i o d i za t i o ns , o f c o ur s e , d i s t i ng u i s hed the anc i ent , med i ev a l ,a n d m o d e r n , w i t h t h e a d v e n t o f t h e n a t i o n a l m o v e m e n t , t h e n t h e f o r -m a t i o n o f t h e J e w i s h s t a te , d e f i n i n g t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y a n d i m p o s i n gper s pec t i v e and o r der o n a l l that had c o me be fo r e . Under r e l i g i o usa n d s e c u l a r a u s p i ce s , t h e r e f o r e , t h e s t u d y o f J u d a i s m a n d o f t h e J e w sr e h e a r s e d th e c a t e g o r y " J u d a i s m " p r o f e s s e d b y th e J e w i s h n a t i o n .I n th i s i r o n c o ns ens us o f un i t i e s , Chr i s t i an s c ho l ar s h i p was happy toc o n c ur : J u d a i s m w as an e thn i c , na t i o na l r e l i g i o n , i n c o nt r as t to theuni v er s a l i t y and t r ans n at i o na l c har ac t er o f Ch r i s t i an i ty . O r to put itd i f f e r endy : Chr i s t i an i ty t r u l y b r o ug ht the G o d o f (anc i ent ) I s r ae l to a l lh u m a n i t y .

That i s how matters s tood unt i l the f inal th i rd o f the las t century .B u t no w p eo p l e r ea l i ze d i v er s e data a t tes t to d i st inc t J u d a i c s ys tems .They a r e no t to be fo r c ed i n to a s i ng l e -ism, and no one t r ies to har-monize a l l the data , on the one s ide , or to pick and choose the the-o l o g i c a l l y c o r r ec t data , o n the o ther . I n the ac ademi c , no t - theo l o g i c a l ,a n d n o t - i d e o l o g i c a l s t u dy o f a n c i e n t J u d a i s m , " J u d a i s m " t h e r e f o r e h a sn e a r l y e v e r y w h e r e g i v e n w a y t o " J u d a i s m s , " a b r ie f w a y o f s ta t in g ac o m p l e x c a t e g o r y f o r m a t i o n .

So i t i s now a setded quest ion that , for ant iqui ty , we can f indn o si n gl e J u d a i s m p r a c t i c e d e v e r y w h e r e . W e h a v e d iv e r s e b o d i e s o fw r i t i n g s , w h i c h s c a r c e l y a c k n o w l e d g e a n y t h i n g i n c o m m o n b e y o n dS c r i p t u r e . W e i d e n t i f y v a r i o u s s o c ia l g r o u p s t h r o u g h a r c h a e o l o g i c a lev i denc e , a s k i ng abo ut the i n ter p l ay o f r e l i g i o n and the s o c i a l o r der ,and then d i s c o v er that c o r r e l a t i ng a r c haeo l o g i c a l and l i t e r ar y ev i d -enc e pr es ents eno r m o u s d i f fi c u l t i e s fo r tho s e w h o wi s h to ha r m o n i zee v e r y t h i n g i n to a s in g le J u d a i s m . T h e c o n c e p t i o n o f a u n i t a r y , c o n -tinuo us, i nc r em en ta l " J ew i s h l aw , " wi th a beg i nn i ng , a m i dd l e , an d ac o n c l u s i o n ( f or e x a m p l e , in th e T a l m u d o f B a b y l o n i a ) s ca r c e l y c o r r e -


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l a tes wi th the c o ns eq uenc es o f a r c haeo l o g i c a l c ha l l eng es to s o me o fthe l aws o f do c uments o r wi th the l i t e r ar y ev i denc e , fo r exampl e ,f r o m E l e p h a n t i n e a n d f r o m Q u m r a n , h a r m o n i z e d o n l y w i t h d i f f i c u l t ywi th l aw fo und i n l a te r do c uments . Ana l y t i c a l q ues t i o ns addr es s ed tod i v e r s e d o c u m e n t s p r o d u c e d i v e r s e a n d c o n t r a d i c t o r y a n s w e r s .

I f , therefore , we ask the same quest ion o f any o f the bodies o f wr i t -i n g d e e m e d to c o a l e s c e a p o c a l y p t i c , R a b b i n i c , t h a t o f C h r i s t i a n sw h o i dent i f y them s e l v es as I s r ae l , that fo u nd i n the D e a d S ea l i b r ar y ,P h i l o ' s , J o s e p h u s ' s , n o t to m e n t i o n J e w i s h w r i t in g in G r e e k a n dAr amai c , the d i v er s e t r ans l a t i o ns o f S c r i p tur e be i ng o n l y o ne , i f eno r -m o u s , b o d y o f e v i d e n c e w h a t a n s w e r s e m e r g e ? E a c h w i l l g i v e awe l l - fo r med ans wer that s tands ent i r e l y o n i t s o wn and exc l udes andc o ntr ad i c t s a l l the o ther s . W hether we as k abo ut G o d , o r To r ah , o rI s r a e l to i dent i f y the thr ee g en er a t i v e c a teg o r i es g en er a l l y tho ug h t tos er v e an y J u d a i c r e l ig i o us s ys tem (s tand ing fo r the s ys tem 's e tho s ,e th i c s , an d e thn o s ) w ha t we f ind is ev e r y th i ng an d i ts o ppo s i te . W eaddr es s ne i ther a un i fo r m c o r pus o f e thn i c t r a i t s no r a c o her ent bo dyo f un i v er s a l l y a f f i r m ed theo l o g i c a l i deas . I nde ed , the r ea l q ues t i o nn o w d e m a n d i n g a t t en t io n h a s s h i ft e d . I f R a b b i n i c J u d a i s m c o n st it u te sa s ing le , coh ere nt Ju d a is m , as i s pr es en dy b ro ad ly (and I th ink rightiy)taken as fac t , then can we f ind a set o f premises that animate a l l o fi t s c ano ni c a l wr i t i ng s , and i f s o , wher e and ho w ar e we to l o c atet h e m ? T h e a n a l y t i c a l p r o g r a m h a s n o w c o m e to a p r o b l e m o f i n d u c -tive synthesis.

Now in the wor ld o f sectar ian learning , wi th i t s i ron soc ia l ru le thatthere i s a "we" that i s r ight and a " they" that i s not so much wrongas undes er v i ng o f a hear i ng a l to g ether , the c o nc ept i o n o f a s i ng l e un i -t a r y J u d a i s m f o r m s a n a b so l u t e . S i n c e p e o p l e k n o w f r o m e v e r y d a yo b s e r v a t i o n t h a t t h e y f o r m a s i n g l e , u n i t a r y , h a r m o n i o u s c o m m u n i t yo f J u d a i s m (o r J ew i s hn es s ) , a nd s i nc e they c an t r ac e the i r beg i n n i n g si n a l i n e a r a n d i n c r e m e n t a l d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m s o m e p r i o r m o m e n t o rpo i n t o f o r i g i n , the f ac t i c i ty o f a s ing l e J u d a i s m th e i r s i n p ar t i c u l a r ac c o r ds wi th the g i v ens o f the s o c i a l wo r l d . I n the ac ademy, by c o n-tras t , wi th i t s p lura l i ty o f par t ic ipants and divers i ty o f perspect ives ,that g i v en fac es c ha l l eng e . Exp l anat i o ns o f why o ne s e t o f wr i t i ng s i sno r m at i v e , ano the r s ec tar i an , find li tt ie hea r i ng , s uc h ju dg m en ts be i ngd i s mi s s ed as " theo l o g i c a l , " no t der i v i ng f r o m t r a i t s o f the data them-selves . Not only so , but as cathol ic and Protes tant scholarship on theN e w T e s t a m e n t h a s f o u n d e n t i r e l y p l a u s i b l e t h e c o n c e p t i o n o f d i v e r s e


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c o mmuni t i e s o f Chr i s t i an i ty , eac h s e t t i ng fo r th i t s enc o unter wi thJ es us , that s ame s c ho l ar l y wo r l d has fo und ent i r e l y natur a l the no t i o nt h a t t h e r e w a s m o r e t h a n a s i n g l e J u d a i s m .C o n s e q u en dy , e f fo r t s to exp l a i n a w ay the d i v er s ity o f da ta , o r tod e f i n e a n " e s s e n c e o f J u d a i s m , " o r t o p i c k a n d c h o o s e a m o n g th e d a t at h e w r i t in g s t ha t w e r e n o r m a t i v e t h e s e e f f o r t s m o u n t a h o l d i n gact ion, a las t -d i tch defense o f concept ions that have los t p laus ib i l -i t y . The es s ent i a l i s t , l o wes t c o mmo n deno mi nato r s that hav e fo unda h e a r i n g f o r e x a m p l e , a n y J u d a i s m w i l l b e l i e v e t his a n d p r a c t i c et h a t n e v e r s u c c e e d i n d e a l i n g w i t h d i v e r s i t y ; p r e s e n t i n g t h e p r o -po s ed es s enti a l J u d a i s m to an y c o r p us o f wr i t i ng y i e l ds o n l y a s i m pl eju dg m en t : nec e s s ar y b ut no t s u f f i c ient . T h a t i s to s ay , it is t r ue thatthi s J u d a i s m d i d a f f i r m these e ss ent i a l t eac h i n g s , but i t fo r m ed theminto a s tatement o f i t s own or i t ass igned to them far less consequencetha n the c la im of essent ia l i ty leads us to exp ect . A b o v e a l l, i f w e askw h e t h e r b y a p p e a l t o t h e p r o p o s e d e s s e n c e w e c a n e x p l a i n w h a ti s d i s t i nc t i v e , par t i c u l a r , and ther e fo r e c har ac ter i s t i c o f any o ne

J u d a i s m , th e a n s w e r is a l w a y s n e g a t i v e . T h e p r o p o s e d e s se n c e o rc o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r s e rv e s t o d i st in g u i sh a n y a n d al l J u d a i s m s f r o many and a l l o ther re l ig ious sys tems ; that i s the contr ibut ion o f essenceso r l o wes t c o mmo n deno mi nato r s . B ut s uc h i s nev er s u f f i c i ent toa c c o u n t f o r t h e s o c i a l w o r l d t h a t p r o d u c e d a n d v a l u e d a g i v e n b o d yo f wr i t i ng , to des c r i b e an d ana l yze an d i n ter pr e t it s J u d a i c s ys tem.T h a t exp l a i ns the ju d g m en t o f nec e s s ar y but no t s u f f i c i ent , w h i c h is tos a y , t h e ( p r o p o s e d ) c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r is n e c e s s a r y t o a ll J u d a i s m sbut i ns u f f i c i ent to des c r i b e , ana l y ze , o r in te r pr e t any o ne o f them .

A fur ther t r a i t o f the ac ademy ' s i n te r es t i n the s tudy o f anc i entJ u d a i s m r e q u i r e s a t t e n t i o n . T h e a c a d e m y t a k e s s h a p e , i n t h e s t u d y o fthe soc ia l order , in not only humanis t ic but a l so soc ia l - sc ient i f ic d is -c ipl ines , and when re l ig ion i s s tudied, interes t focuses upon not onlyt h e b e l ie f s p e o p l e h e l d r e a d p h i l o s o p h i c a l ly ( or t h e o l o g i c a l ly ) b u ta l s o the s o c i a l o r der that they as p i r ed to make o r ac tua l l y madeto g ether . R e l i g i o n fo r ms a c o g ent s ta tement o f a s o c i a l wo r l d , s e t sfo r th a c u l tur a l s ys tem, ans wer s q ues t i o ns o f s o c i a l c o her enc e andc o ntr o l . R e l i g i o n i s r ead ther e fo r e as no t s o meth i ng per s o na l , p r i v a te ,an d me r e l y i n te l l ec tua l but a s a s ta teme nt by a g r o up o f peo pl e c o n-c er n i ng w ha t they m ak e to g ether ; it is pu b l i c , c o m m u na l , and s ub jec tto r eas o ned ana l ys i s a s a th i s - wo r l d l y f ac t . H enc e , i n the ac ademy, a


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pr inc ipal interes t in the s tudy o f any re l ig ion addresses the soc ia l eco l -ogy o f that re l ig ion.

B y the ec o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n I mean the i n ter p l ay be tween a r e l i g i o ussystem and the soc ia l wor ld that g ives to that sys tem i ts shape andmeani ng . To me , when we under s tand a r e l i g i o us s ys tem i n the c o n-text o f the soc ia l order , we grasp whatever in th is wor ld we are l ike lyto unders tand about re l ig ion in the shaping o f the c iv i l izat ion o fhumani ty . And no o ther g ener a t i v e fo r c e i n c i v i l i za t i o n has exc eededi n po w er an d e f fec t the fo r m at i v e fo r c e o f r e l i g io n . T h e s o c i a l t a sk o ft h e a c a d e m y t o e x p l a i n t h e w o r l d t h a t h u m a n i t y h a s m a d e f o ri t s e l fr eq ui r es c l o s e a t tent i o n to ho w peo pl e fo r mul a te the i r c o nc ep-tio ns o f the s o c i a l o r der . T h e s tudy o f anc i en t J u d a i s m i n the ac ad em yther e fo r e i s fo c us ed thr o ug h the l a r g er pr o b l em o f ho w to r e l a te thecontent o f a re l ig ion to i t s context , soc ia l cul ture to re l ig ious conv ic-t i o n ; an d , abo v e a l l , s o c i a l c h an g e , w hi c h is pub l i c and g en er a l , tos ym bo l c h an g e , w hi c h is pa r t i c u l a r an d i nv ar i ab l y d i s t inc t i ve to it sset t ing . At s take in the s tudy o f the eco logy o f re l ig ion i s whetherand ho w r e l i g i o n fo r ms an i ndependent v ar i ab l e i n the s hap i ng o fc iv i l izat ion.

I n t h a t c o n t e x t , t h e q u e s t i o n w h o i n p a r t i c u l a r h e l d w h a t i d e a ,how that idea f i t ted together wi th other ideas held by persons in thats ame s o c i a l g r o up , and i n what way s a i d i deas fo r mul a te a s ta tementi n r es po ns e to the s o c i a l wo r l d fo r med by tho s e who he l d themi nits severa l par ts s imply sets as ide as implaus ib le the not ion o f a s ing leJ u d a i s m , w h e t h e r f o r m u l a t e d i n i t s e s s e n c e o r i n i t s l o w e s t c o m m o ndeno mi nato r o r , a l l the mo r e s o , i n i t s theo l o g i c a l no r ms . O nc e weask quest ions o f a soc ia l character about the re lat ionship o f re l ig ionand s o c i e ty , c o ns t r uc t s o f a mer e l y i n te l l ec tua l c har ac ter no l o ng erserve to sor t out complex data , and they obstruct any sort o f p laus i -b le inquiry . For , once people ins i s t upon the soc ia l quest ion, see ingrel ig ion not as a set of ideas in the abstract but as a statement of ac o mmuni ty o r a s e t o f c o mmuni t i e s , the po s s i b i l i t y o f de f i n i ng a s i n -g le J u d a i s m t h a t c a n e n c o m p a s s a l l J u d a i c d a t a o r e x p l a i n s o m e a n de x p l a i n a w a y o t h e r s n o l o n g e r p r o v e s c o m p e l l i n g o r e v e n v e r y i m p o r -tant . Tr ue , Chr i s t i an theo l o g i ans f i nd c o nv eni ent the c o nc ept i o n o f as ing le J u d a is m as a fo i l to a s ing le Ch r is t ia ni ty ; but the uni ta ry , incre -m en ta l J u d a i s m that they de f i ne fo r them s e l v es r a r e l y f inds i ts wa yi nto o ther than theo l o g i c a l d i s c o ur s e .


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T h e u p s h o t is s i m p l e . T h e i s s u e, h o w w e d e f i n e J u d a i s m , is n o ws etded : we d o no t . W e d e f i ne J u d a i s m s , an d the first s tep in the w o r ko f d e f i n i ti o n r e q u i r e s i d e n t i f y i n g t h e p a r t i c u l a r J u d a i c c o m m u n i t y t h a ts tands behind a g iven set o f wr i t ings or that va lues and l ives by thosewr i t i ng s . A l l ana l y t i c a l wo r k i n the ac ademy pr o c eeds f r o m th i s pr e -m i s e , an d bo o k s o n J u d a i s m that po s i t a s i ng l e , un i ta r y , i nc r e m en ta l

J u d a i s m , d e r i v i n g f r o m S i n a i t h r o u g h w r i t t e n a n d o r a l t r a d i t i o n , c o m -mand s l ight at tent ion these days . In th is context , books that c la im tod e f i n e e ss en t ia l J u d a i s m o r c o m m o n - d e n o m i n a t o r J u d a i s m s im p l y r a t-i f y the c hang e that has taken p l ac e ; i n the s ec tar i an wo r l d , peo pl e d i dnot f ind urgent the problem that such books propose to so lve .Co ns eq uendy , we f i nd o ur s e l v es a s k i ng theo l o g i c a l q ues t i o ns c o n-c er n i ng the c o her enc e o f d i s c r e te t r u ths , but we pr o po s e to ans werthose quest ions not out o f doctr ine but , for l i terary s tudy, out o fh e r m e n e u t i c s . P r e c is e l y w h e r e t h e J e w i s h - s p o n s o r e d c e n t e r s o f le a r n -ing a l leged to locate thei r greates t s t rengthsexeges is o f texts , phi lo l -o g y , e v e n t e x t c r i t i c i s m t h e a c a d e m y h a s n o w t o c a r r y i t s v e n t u r e .For we cannot abdicate the gravest inte l lec tual respons ib i l i ty o f a l l :the reading o f the texts in the new, and so le r ight , way. That i s suehas been s e tded .

I I . S E T T L E D IS S U E S : 2 . F R O M H I S T O R Y T O R E L I G I O N

The I s r ae l i and s ec u l ar - J ewi s h- s po ns o r ed c enter s o f the s tudy o fJ u d a i s m , c a r r y i n g f o r w a r d t h e T e u t o n i c t r a d i t i o n i n w h i c h t h e y o r i g -i nated , want to ans wer q ues t i o ns o f har d h i s to r i c a l f ac t , t ak i ng fo rgranted that the texts susta in such quest ions . They fur ther t reat i t asa n a x i o m t h at h i s t o r y " p r e c i se l y w h a t h a p p e n e d " d e f i n e s w h a tmat ter s abo ut the R abb i n i c do c uments , t e l l s them what they wi s h tok n o w . T h e s e c u l a r a c a d e m y , b y c o n t r a s t , c o m m o n l y c e n t e r i n g t h es tudy o f anc i e nt J u d a i s m i n de pa r tm en ts o f r e l i g io us s tud i es , b r i ng s tobear q ues t i o ns o f r e l i g i o us s tudy and i n ter pr e ta t i o n . An appar entp a r a d o x , t h e n , e m e r g e s . W h e n t h e b e l i e v e r s a n d e t h n i c s r e a d t h e t e x t ,they s eek s ec u l ar f ac t s , and when o uts i der s r ead the tex t , they wantto under s tand the r ea l m o f f a i th and i mag i nat i o n , the r e l i g i o us c o n-s truct ion o f an imagined soc ia l order , that forms the inter ior i ty o f thetext . B ut the par ado x i s r ead i l y r es o l v ed when we r ea l i ze that , exc l ud-i ng the r e l i g i o us c enter s fo r med by Yes h i v as i n the Di as po r a and i n


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the state o f Israe l , a l l the Je w ish -s po ns or ed centers o f the study o fJudaism f ind their energy in an ethnic , not in a re l ig ious , episteme.T h e y ce lebra t e t he e t hnic g ro up , t he Je w s , co nc e ived t o ha ve a un i -t a ry , harmo nio us , l inear , and co herent h i s t o ry . They appea l t o ( f ab-ricated, im pu ted , ofte n sentim ental) unit ies of history an d ethn icity toexpla in why, on the basis o f h istory and culture , not re l ig ion, th is eth-n ic g ro up sho uld co nt inue t o endure . A nd t o t hat ce lebra t io n andappeal , the facts o f h istory bear se l f -evident , se l f -va l idat ing meanings .

The two principal theories that in the parochia l set t ing def ine theJ e w s b o t h r e li g io u s ( R e f o r m , C o n s e r v a t i v e , R e c o n s tr u c t io n i s t) a n dnat io na li s t (I s rae li un ivers it y ) scho larsh ip o n Ju d a is m fo r d i f f e rentreaso ns co ncur o n t he pr imacy o f h i s t o r ica l kno w ledg e , a lw ays mean-in g precise^ how things were, in the study o f the writ ings o f format ive

J u d a i s m . F a c t s b e a r i m p e r a t i v e s , w h e t h e r m o r a l , w h e t h e r e t h n i c a n dnat io na l . T h e y va l idat e , t hey jus t i f y , t hey reso lve co nf l ic t . C h i ld o fp o s t - H e g e l i a n t h e o l o g y , R e f o r m J u d a i s m c o m m e n c e d w i th t h e c l a i mthat h istor ica l knowledge ( "history") forms a re l iable too l for the re-fo rm at io n o f Ju d a i sm . Pr o po s ing t o co nt ro l an d manip ula t e t he co r-pus o f precedent s fo r chang e t hat w o uld leg i t imat e fu t ure re fo rm asw e l l , t he R e fo rmers maint a ined t hat chang e w as a l l r ig ht because h i s -tor ica l precedent proved that change was a l l r ight . I t pays to dwel lon this po int , s ince only when we grasp why histor ica l fact carr iedhe av y t heo lo g ica l w e ig h t shal l w e unde rs t and t he cha ract e r o f J e w is hlearn ing in paro ch ia l ausp ices .

W ha t pro v ide d t he jus t i f i ca t io n fo r the chang es w as t he t heo ry o ft he increm ent a l h i s t o ry o f a s ing le , l inear Ju d a i sm , a nd i t p la yed ap o w e r f u l ro l e in th e c r e a t iv e a g e o f R e f o r m J u d a i s m . T h e o n e s w h om a d e c h a n g e s a n d f o u n d e d R e f o r m , t h e n C o n s e r v a t i v e J u d a i s m and hence their Rabbinica l schoolsrested their case , f i rst o f a l l , onan appeal to the authoritat ive texts, read historical ly (as a collect ionof i rre futable facts) . Change is leg it imate , and these changes in par-t icular are whol ly consonant with the law, or the t radit ion, or theinner dynamics o f the fa i th , or the dictates o f h istory , or whatever outo f t he past w o rked t hat day . The jus t i f i ca t io n o f chang e a lw aysinvo ked precedent . Peo ple w ho made chang es had t o sho w t hat t heprinciple that guided what they did was not new, even though thespeci f ic th ings they did were . So , to lay down a br idge between them-selves and their past , they la id out beams rest ing on deep-set pi les .

The f o undat io n o f chang e w as fo rmed o f t he bedro ck o f precedent .


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And mo r e s t i l l : c hang e r es to r es , r ev er t s to an unc hang i ng i dea l . S othe R e fo r mer s c l a i med no t to c hang e a t a l l but o n l y to r eg a i n the c o r -rect state o f a f f a i r s , on e that others , in the inter val , them selves ha vec h a n g e d . T h a t f o r m s t h e f u n d a m e n t a l a t t i t u d e o f m i n d o f t h e p e o p l ew h o m a k e c h a n g e s a n d c a l l t h e c h a n g e s R e f o r m . T h e a p p e a l t o h i s -to r y , a c o m m o n m o d e o f jus t i f i c a t i o n i n the po l i ti c s an d theo l o g y o fthe n i neteenth c en tur y , ther e fo r e de f i n ed the pr i n c i pa l jus t i f i c a t i o n fo rt h e n e w J u d a i s m : i t w a s n e w b e c a u s e it r e n e w e d t h e o l d a n d e n d u r -i n g , t h e g o l d e n J u d a i s m o f a m y t h i c a g e o f p e r f e c t i o n . A r g u m e n t s o npr ec edent dr ew the R e fo r mer s to the wo r k o f c r i t i c a l s c ho l ar s h i p , a swe shal l see , as they setded a l l quest ions by appeal to the facts o fh i s to r y .

W e c ann o t find s ur pr i s i ng ther e fo r e the theo r y that R e fo r mJ u d a i s m o r C o n s e r v a t i v e J u d a i s m o r i n te g ra t io n is t O r t h o d o x J u d a i s m(in the third case, v ia the f igure of Maimonides) stood in a direct l inewi th the pr i o r h i sto r y o f J u d a i s m . E a c h c l a i m ed to c o ns t i tu te the ne c -essary , h is tor ica l ly va l idated next s tep in the unfo ld ing his tory o f" J u d a i s m , " h o w e v e r d e f i n e d . W h a t w e o b s e r v e d in c o n s i d e ri n g t hed o g m a o f a s in g l e , u n i t a r y J u d a i s m h a s n o w t o r e g is t e r o n c e m o r e .

J u d a i s m is o ne . J u d a i s m has a h i sto r y , that h i s to r y is s ing l e a nduni ta r y , and it w as a l w ays l ead i n g to it s pr es en t o utc o m e: R e -f o r m J u d a i s m . O t h e r s la t e r o n w o u l d c h a l l e n g e t h es e c o n v i c t i o n s.M o d er n i n teg r a t i o n i st O r th o d o x J u d a i s m i ns i sted o n the h i s to r i ci ty o fe v e r y t h i n g , p r o d u c i n g p r e c i s e l y t h a t n a t u r a l o u t c o m e , t h e a u t h e n t i c ,T o r a h - t r u e , O r t h o d o x J u d a i s m ; a n d o t h e r , s e lf -s e gr e ga t io n i st O r -t h o d o x J u d a i s m s w o u l d d e n y t h at J u d a i s m ( "t h e T o r a h " ) h a d a his -to r y a t a l l. Co ns er v at i v e J u d a i s m , c a l l ing it se lf " po s i t i v e H i s to r i c a l

J u d a i s m , " w o u l d d i s c o v e r a d i f f e r e n t g o a l f o r h i s to r y f r o m t h a te m b o d i e d b y R e f o r m J u d a i s m . B u t t he m o d e o f a r g u m e n t , a p p e a l i n gto i s s ues o f a h i s to r i c a l and fac tua l c har ac ter , and the pr emi s es o fa r g ument , i ns i s t i ng that h i s to r y pr o v ed , o r d i s pr o v ed , mat te r s o f the-o l o g i c a l c o nv i c t i o n , c ha r ac t er i z ed a l l the J u d a i s m s o f the n i neteenthc en tur y an d the r e fo r e s hap ed the i n te ll ec tua l l if e o f a ll J u d a i s m s o f thes ynag o g ue i n the twent i e th c entur y as we l l .

T h e J u d a i s m s o f the ag e to o k s hape i n the i n te l lec tua l w o r l d o fG e r m a n y , w i t h its p r o f o u n d l y p h i l o s o p h i c a l a n d h is t o ri c a l m o d e o ftho ug ht and ar g ument . Ph i l o l o g y s e tded q ues t i o ns o f theo l o g y andy i e l ded h i s to r i c a l f ac t , and pr i nc i p l es o f f a i th fo und de f i n i t i o n i n v ar i -


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ant manus c r i pt r ead i ng s . S o the c ha l l eng e o f po l i t i c a l c hang e c ar r i edwith i t i t s own modes o f inte l lec tual response : in the academic , schol -a r ly f r a m e w o r k . T h e m e t h o d o f t he J u d a i s m a b o r n i n g as R e f o r me x h i b i t e d a c e r t a i n c o n g r u e n c e t o t h e l o c a l e . W h e t h e r L u t h e r d e -mandi ng r ev er s i o n to the pur e and pr i mi t i v e f a i th o f the G o s pe l s o rt h e e a r l i e s t g e n e r a t i o n o f R e f o r m l e a d e r s a p p e a l i n g t o t h e T a l m u d a sjus t i f i c a t i o n fo r r e jec t i ng what o ther s tho ug ht was the c o ntempo r ar ye m b o d i m e n t o f t h e T a l m u d ' s r e q u i r e m e n t s , t h e p r i n c i p l e r e m a i n s t h es ame. R e fo r m r enews , r ec o v er s the t r ue c o nd i t i o n o f the f a i th , andselects , out o f a d iverse past , that age and that moment at which thefa i th a t ta i ned i t s per fec t de f i n i t i o n and embo di ment . N o t c hang e butr es to r a t i o n and r enewal o f the t r ue mo des , the r ec o v er y o f the wayth i ng s wer e i n that per fec t , par ad i g mat i c t i me , that ag e that fo r medt h e m o d e l f o r a l l t i m e t h e s e d e e p l y m y t h i c m o d e s o f a p p e a l f o r m e dthe jus t i f i c a t i o n fo r c h an g e , t r ans fo r m i ng m er e m o di f i c a t i o n o f th isand that i n to R e fo r m. And s i nc e a l l i n te l l ec tua l c ur r ents i n J uda i s mi n t he W e s t b e g a n w i t h R e f o r m J u d a i s m , t he p o w e r f u l p a r a d i g m o fh i s to r i c a l r e s ear c h wo ul d deep l y r o o t i t s e l f i n ev er y p l ac e wher e ,un de r J e w i s h au s p i c es , the s tudy o f anc i en t J u d a i s m flo urished .

Th i s o bs er v at i o n br i ng s us to the s h i f t that no w c o mes to c o nc l u-s i o n . W hen the s ub jec t " J ewi s h s tud i es , " c o ns t r ued to t r ans c end thes tudy o f J u d a i s m , m ad e its m o v e in to the ac ad em y, the o ne d i s c i p li nethat ac t i v e l y ac c o r ded i t a we l c o me was the ac ademi c s tudy o f r e l i -g i o n . H i s to r y dep ar tm ent s fo u nd s l ig ht i n te res t i n " J e w i s h h i s to r y , "no t c o n c ur r i ng wi th the Z i o n i s t and J u d a i c c o nv i c t i o n that a s i ng l e ,u n i t a r y h is t or y w r i t te n b y th e J e w s e v e r y w h e r e a n d a n y w h e r e f o r m e da h i s t o r i c a l e p i s t e m e . F e w h i s t o r y d e p a r t m e n t s m a d e a p p o i n t m e n t si n J e w i s h h i s to r y u n le s s J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y f u n d s p a i d f o r t h e m ; a n dthen they fo c us ed o n " the mo der n per i o d" as a pr e text to g i v eH o l o c aus t c o ur s es , wh i c h the do no r s wanted to fo s te r . B y c o nt r as t ,m a n y r e li gi on d e p a r t m e n t s m a d e a p p o i n t m e n t s in J u d a i s m w i t h o u tany outs ide support at a l l . As to the soc ia l sc iences , they rare ly makee t h n i c a p p o i n t m e n t s , f o r e x a m p l e , J e w i s h e c o n o m i c s , t h o u g h a r e as tud i es natur a l l y ac c o mmo dated the s tudy o f the s ta te o f I s r ae l wi th i nthe M i dd l e Eas t . I n the humani t i e s , wher e r e l i g i o n depar tmentsflourished , the ac ad em i c s tudy o f J u d a i s m fo u nd its ho m e; w he r e no t ,Jewish s tudies as a d isc ipl inary potpourr i def ined the f ie ld . In re l ig iondepar tments , the s ec u l ar h i s to r i c a l pr o g r am at t r ac ted s l i g ht i n te r es t ,


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bu t the study of Ju d a i s m as a rel ig ion fit we ll into the stud y, alo ngsystemat ic l ines , o f a var iety o f other re l ig ions and especia l ly theirc lass ica l writ ings .

In p lace o f t he re fo rming pro g ram, w hich used ph i lo lo g y and exe-g es i s a s ins t rument s o f chang e and had t rea t ed as secu lara mat t erof posit ive histor ica l factwrit ings with another focus a l together , theac ad em ic study o f re l ig ion asked a d i f fe ren t set o f quest ions . Th es equest ions s idestepped and t reated as nul l i ssues o f whether a g ivenrabbi sa id or d id not say , d id or d id not do , what is at t r ibuted to him.The study o f re l ig ion required reading the rece ived writ ings as thecan o n , t he co he rent s t a t ement o f a rel igio us sys t em, a Ju d a is m co m -pris ing a worldview, way o f l i fe , and theory o f the socia l ent i ty Israe l .T o t he descr ipt io n o f Ju da is m s as s t a t ement s o f a so c ia l o rderg ro unded in a supernat ura l co nv ic t io n , q uest io ns o f h i s t o r ica l f ac t ,w hi le no t i r re levant , scarce ly pro ve urg ent . Fo r w hat rea l ly happenedo n a g iven day and ho w a g ro up o f peo ple f o rmulat ed t he i r sharedl i f e in respo nse t o , fo r example , t he vo cat io n o f fo rming t he K ing do mo f Go dt hese mat t ers scarce ly in t ersect .

But the issue never found i t s def init ion in whether things rea l lyhappened, and the f ie ld d id not redef ine i t s agenda because peopled isco vered in t he 196 0s and 1970s w hat mainst ream scho larsh ip int he New and Old Test ament s had kno w n f ro m t he t ime o f Sp ino za ,which is , " I t a in ' t necessar i ly so . " The histor ica l quest ion had beenasked too soon. But the histor ica l -cr i t ica l considerat ion formed a neg-at ive argument only . A posit ive one reg istered as wel l .The f ie ld rede f ined t he ag enda aw ay f ro m h is t o ry and t o w ard re l i -g ion because history massive ly missed the point o f the documents onw h ich ev eryo ne w o rk s . Int erest sh i f t ed beca use peo p le rea l ized t hato nce w e have mined t he so urces fo r such h is t o r ica l in f o rmat io n asthey may contain, most o f the sources and a l l o f the t ruths they pur-po se t o se t fo r t h fo rm mo unt a ins o f unassayed s lag . His t o ry pro veds imply , mo nument a l ly i r re levant t o t he very so urces t hat w ere sup-posed to contain history . History gave way to re l ig ion because o f therecognit ion, a g iven in the study o f re l ig ion, that the canonical writ -i n gs of J u d a i s m a r e fu n d a m e n t a l l y religious b o o k s , f r a m i n g a n a c c o u n to f a Ju d a ic re l ig io us sys t em.

A further factor in the decline of interest in history as the study ofwhat rea l ly happened lay in the fact that the study o f re l ig ion encom-passed h i s t o ry w i t h in a d i f f e rent de f in i t io n . T h e ac ad em y ' s ins is t ence


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that a r e l i g i o us s ys tem dea l s i n a fundamenta l way wi th an ur g ent andineluctable quest ion fac ing a soc ia l ent i ty and that the sys tem prov idesan ans wer deemed s e l f - ev i dendy v a l i d to the q ues t i o n peo pl e c o n-f r o ntthi s r ede f i ned the s tudy o f h i s to r y , a s I s ha l l a r g ue i n ChapterT w o . T h e J u d a i s m s o f l at e a n t i q u i t y , t h e n , h a v e c o m e t o f o r m a l a b -o r a to r y c as e fo r the exami nat i o n o f r e l i g i o n and s o c i e ty : r e l i g i o n ass o meth i ng peo pl e do to g ether to s o l v e the i r pr o b l ems .

T h u s a d i f fe ren t k ind o f h is tory presents i tse lf : the soc ia l an d inte l-l ec tua l k i nd . I n the c ano ni c a l wr i t i ng s , a s the ac ademy r eads them,a u t h o r s s p e a k i n g f o r c o m m u n i t i e s h a v e m a d e s ta t e m e n t s a b o u t h o wthey hav e wo r ked o ut ans wer s to c r i t i c a l and ur g ent pr o b l ems thatfac ed them. R ead pr o per l y , thes e bo o ks te l l us h i s to r y o f a d i f f e r ents o r t f r o m the ac c o un t o f per s o ns an d ev ents that ear l i e r had bee ntho ug ht to emer g e . I n mo r e g ener a l t e r ms , c o nc e i v i ng that r e l i g i o n i sthe wo r k o f r ea l peo pl e wo r k i ng to g ether to s o l v e pr es s i ng pr o b l ems ,the ac ademy has wo r ked o ut , a s fo r o ther bo d i es o f r e l i g i o us wr i t i ng s ,a par t i c u l a r way o f addr es s i ng the c ano ni c a l wr i t i ng s . I t r eads themwithin the hermeneut ics serv iceable for re l ig ious wr i t ings that set for ththe (to thei r authors) se l f -ev idendy va l id answers that they have foundto thes e pr o b l ems . R ead eac h o n i t s o wn and then a l l to g ether , thec ano ni c a l wr i t i ng s fo r m an ac c o unt o f the wo r l dv i ew, way o f l i f e , andtheory o f the soc ia l ent i ty , the " I s rae l , " that rea l izes the wor ldv iew init s ev er y da y l if e an d that w e m ay c a l l a J u d a i s m . S o the pr

Documents

Neusner - Three Questions of Formative Judaism.pdf