CREATING JUDAISM History, Tradition, Practice
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CREATING JUDAISM History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow Columbia University Press New York Creating Judaism Michael l. Satlow Creating Judaism 3 History, Tradition, Practice 4 Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York, Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2006 Michael L. Satlow All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Satlow, Michael L. Creating Judaism : history, tradition, practice / Michael L. Satlow p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBn 0-231-13488-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBn 0-231-13489-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBn 0-231-50911-1 (ebook) 1. Judaism. 2. Jews—Identity. I. Title. Bm45.s226 2006 296—dc22 2006018056 Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Jacqueline r contents Acknowledgments ix Chronology xi Introduction 1 1 Promised Lands 22 2 Creating Judaism 69 3 Between Athens and Jerusalem 96 4 The Rabbis 115 5 Rabbinic Concepts 140 6 Mitzvot 164 7 The Rise of Reason 187 8 From Moses to Moses 209 9 Seeing God 229 10 East and West 250 Epilogue: Whither Judaism? 288 Glossary 297 Bibliographical Notes 307 Index 325 acknowledgments riting this Book has brought me far outside of my usual comfort zone, and I have turned to many colleagues, students, friends, and family for guidance. It is a pleasure for me to ac- Wknowledge their help and generosity. The idea for this book, and the intellectual model underlying it, emerged slowly over long and pleasant conversations with former colleagues at In- diana University, especially Robert Orsi and Steven Weitzman. I benefited immensely from the comments that I received when presenting earlier drafts of the introduction at the Jewish Theological Seminary as well as to my colleagues in Judaic Studies at Brown University and the graduate stu- dents in the Department of Religious Studies. My colleague Muhammad Qasim Zaman helped me work through one important problem, and the trenchant comments of Shaul Magid and Charles Mathewes to yet another draft helped me sharpen my thoughts. Several colleagues read individual chapters. Michah Gottlieb, Hindy Naj- man, and David Novak saved me from numerous mistakes. A series of con- versations with Daniel Abrams was similarly helpful at a critical moment. It was my good fortune, as I began writing this book, to meet Moshe Rosman. Moshe not only read several chapters with extraordinary care, repeatedly correcting errors and pushing me to clarify and refine my arguments, but also has been a valuable dialogue partner. The extensive comments of the anonymous referees for Columbia University Press were extraordinarily useful. For all remaining errors and problems in this book, I have only my- self to thank. d aCknowledgments This book could not have been completed without the support that I have received from numerous institutions, especially the Department of Religious Studies, the Program in Judaic Studies, and the office of the Dean of the Faculty at Brown University. I completed this book while enjoying the hospitality of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem; my thanks to Adiel Schremer for both his help with logistics as well as good conversation while I was there. Isaiah Gafni facilitated my access to resources at Hebrew University. The wonderful collection at the Jewish National and University Library at Hebrew University was invaluable; my thanks and apologies to the many colleagues in the Judaica Reading Room whom I regularly and frantically pestered. The ideas in this book gestated in the classroom, and I thank the many students who graciously endured my attempts to make them comprehen- sible. Through their questions, blank stares, and spirited dissents, my stu- dents at the University of Virginia, Indiana University, and Brown Universi- ty—whether they knew it or not—contributed actively to the development of this book. My teaching in the Me’ah program run by Hebrew College provided an additional opportunity for test-driving ideas and drafts, and the comments and critiques of my adult students led to yet another round of rewriting. I am appreciative of the support of my sister, Vicki Satlow, who led me to Columbia University Press. I have been lucky to find in my editor, Wendy Lochner, an able and encouraging advocate for this project. My copyeditor, Susan Pensak, has been a pleasure to work with. Many individuals, and the institutions that they represent, generously and expeditiously responded to my requests for images and permissions: David Kraemer and David Sclar of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Robert Hill and Ruth Paige of Temple Emanu-El in Providence, in which is housed the Abraham and Natalie Percelay Museum; Elka Deitsch of Temple Emanu-El in New York; Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman of the Providence Hebrew Day School; and Tom Gilbert at AP/Accuweather. The pleasures of teaching and research pale against those that my chil- dren give me. Daniel, Penina, and Jeremy enjoy seeing their names in print, and I am only too happy to be able to do this for them as a token of my love. For reasons known only to her, my wife, Jacqueline, continues to put up with me. The least that I can do is dedicate this book to her. chronology Ca. 1000 bce The united monarchies of David and Solomon Ca. 1000 bce–586 bce Period of the Israelite monarchies 722 bce Fall of Northern Israelite kingdom 586 bce First Temple destroyed by Babylonians Ca. 515 bce Second Temple established Ca. 515 bce–70 Ce Second Temple period 323 bce Death of Alexander the Great; beginning of Hellenistic period Ca. 200 bce Translation of the Bible into Greek (Septuagint); Antiochus III conquers Jerusalem 168 bce–162 bce Defilement of Temple by Antiochus IV and Maccabean uprising 63 bce Entrance of Pompey, the Roman general, to Jerusalem 30 bce–4 bce Rule of Herod 70 Ce Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans 70–640 Rabbinic period 70–Ca. 250: Period of the tannaim 132–135 Bar Kokhba Revolt Ca. 220 Redaction of Mishnah Ca. 250–Ca. 500 Period of the amoraim Ca. 400 Redaction of Palestinian Talmud Ca. 500 Redaction of Babylonian Talmud Ca. 550–1050 Geonic period 640 Muslim conquest of Near East 661–750 Umayyad dynasty xii d chronology 750–1258 ‘Abbasid dynasty 755 Abd al-Rahman (an Umayyad) declares his emirate in Cordoba (Andalusia) 928–942 Se‘adyah ben Joseph serves as geon of Sura 929 Abd al-Rahman III declares himself caliph in Andalusia 1086 Rulers of Andalusia call on Almoravids for military aid 1135–1204 Life of Maimonides 1147 Almohads overthrow Almoravids late 1200s Authorship of Zohar 1492 Expulsion of Jews from Spain 1626–1676 Life of Sabbatai Zvi 1654 Portuguese expel Jews from Brazil; a boatload arrives in New Amsterdam 1656 Excommunication of Spinoza in Amsterdam 1698–1760 Life of Ba’al Shem Tov 1704 Foundation of Kahal Kadosh Shearith Israel, Spanish- Portuguese synagogue in New York 1729–1786 Life of Moses Mendelssohn 1817 Formation of the New Israelite Temple Association in Hamburg 1875 Hebrew Union College founded 1881–1914 Over two million Jews immigrate to the United States from Eastern Europe 1885 Pittsburgh Platform 1887 Foundation of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America 1894 Dreyfus affair 1897 First Zionist Congress 1898 Foundation of the Orthodox Union 1902 Foundation of Agudath Ha-Rabbanim 1948 Creation of the State of Israel 1967 Six-Day War Creating Judaism introduction hat is Judaism? At first glance, the question itself appears either silly or arcane. Everybody, after all, has some working mental concept that they call “Judaism.” Many committed WJews and Christians can provide a precise and articulate definition, draw- ing a clear bright line between what “counts” as Judaism and what does not. Many more people who cannot or will not provide such a definition nev- ertheless inherently know what Judaism is: “I know it when I see it,” they might reply. For such people, to argue about a precise meaning is a mere academic exercise, an abstruse and meaningless game of words that in no way gets at Judaism’s real meaning. Maybe I am just drawn to silly and arcane questions, but the issue that lurks behind this bald and oversimplified question has been nagging me for more than a decade. Its roots, I suspect, are personal. I am a Jew who was raised in a largely nonobservant family that nevertheless emphasized the value of Jewish identity, of belonging to a people. The supplemental school of the Conservative synagogue that we joined shortly before my bar mitzvah reinforced this central message of Jewish identity, of am yisrael, the “People of Israel,” basically a biological notion of an extended family, in which all Jews share the accomplishments, disappointments, and calamities of all other Jews. To a slightly alienated and awkward Jewish youth growing up in a very non-Jewish suburb of Boston, this was a powerful idea. It was also an idea that in college did not stand up very well to the experience of meeting actual Jews. I was a fickle and eclectic Jew in college. I regularly attended religious services, but never the same one regularly. The Jews that I met in college d introduction were hardly representative of the American Jewish community, but even this narrow cross section was stunningly diverse. My struggle to integrate this enormous diversity with my notion of am yisrael was further compli- cated by my first trip to Israel. Riding in the middle of a planeload of Satmar Hasidim whose rebbe was making his first trip to the land of Israel—they refuse to recognize the sovereignty of the modern State of Israel, which they regard as a Jewish heresy—in short order I found myself learning Hebrew at Ofra, a settlement of religious Zionists on the West Bank.