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Opening Comments II.1A The Mercy Seminar, Term 2 Opening Comments II.1a The Mercy Seminar this term has two objectives: First, to get a sense of the trajectory of Jewish piety during the time of Jesus and the apostles up until the formation of the Mishnah in 200 CE, which forms the basis of the development of the oral and written Law of Moses in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud. The second objective is to come to terms with what can only be called Christian anti-Judaism, as that is reflected in the New Testament, and in three distinct Christian traditions that interpret the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews from the land of Israel as divine punishment for the rejection of Jesus and the apostles. The goal of coming to terms with these traditions of anti-Judaism is to come to a deeper appreciation of the need for Christian-Jewish reconciliation and dialogue in our own day, which will be the subject matter of Term 3 of the Mercy Seminar. Much of the reading we do this term will be emotionally challenging, as the portrait of the Jews is relentlessly negative. It seems that Christians developed their own sense of identity by defining themselves over against their self-created image of “the Jews,” even if that image had nothing to do with the reality of Jewish life. This is why we begin this term with the writing of Jews about Jewish life at the time of Jesus into the rise of the early church, so that we can see how Jews understood themselves, and the central role that the Law of Moses played in that self-understanding. This evening we will be discussing selections from the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. 37 CE Born to a priestly family in Jerusalem, raised a Sadducee, later became a Pharisee after studying all the schools of Jewish thought of his day. 64 CE—sent to Rome to negotiate with Emperor Nero about freeing priests. Mercy Seminar, Term 2 | Opening comments II.1a 66 CE—revolt against Rome had begun. Jerusalem sends him to Galilee to organize resistance to Vespasian, who is marching toward Judea. John of Gischala already has a lower-class army in Galilee, which fights the forces of Josephus. 67 CE—Josephus’s forces are defeated by Vespasian. Josephus surrenders to Vespasian and prophesies that he will be next emperor of Rome. Vespasian does not crucify him but detains him. Josephus befriends Titus, the son of Vespasian. 69 CE—as predicted, Vespasian becomes Emperor. Titus leads Roman forces in campaign against Jerusalem, and renames his friend Titus Flavius Josephus. Josephus acts as a translator and mediator between Romans and Jews, though neither side trusts him. 70 CE Jerusalem destroyed, Josephus goes to Rome and writes histories under patronage of Roman aristocracy. Titus becomes Emperor from 79-81 CE. Josephus dies around 100 CE. Josephus sees himself as explaining the Jewish people to a Roman audience, trying to prove the nobility of the Jews by marginalizing the Jews who led the revolt against Rome. We can see the way Josephus portrays the Jews to his possibly suspicious and critical Roman audience in the work he wrote against Apion, a bitterly anti-Jewish Roman opponent. This is one of the only works we have from this period that describes Jewish life at the time, showing the centrality of the study of the Law of Moses in the synagogues of the day, and the centrality of the Temple for the Jews throughout the world. This gives rise to the first question I am asking us to consider, namely, how does Josephus describe the role of the Law of Moses in the life of the Jews of his day? We are also dependent on Josephus for our understanding of the events leading up to the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Need to read him critically, as he has a pro-Roman agenda and was seen by his Jewish peers as a traitor and a collaborator. Rome defeated the Hasmonean rulers in 63 BCE and occupied Judea. They installed a king of their liking, a convert to Judaism named Herod the Great. In 6 CE, after Herod the Great dies, Rome assumes direct rule over Judea and Jerusalem, making Judea a province of Rome, governed by a Roman Procurator, the most famous of whom was Pontius Pilate. --Rome begins collecting annual taxes at the hands of tax collectors, who were seen by their fellow Jews as collaborators. --Rome begins appointing High Priest in Temple, giving office to Page 2 of 4 Mercy Seminar, Term 2 | Opening comments II.1a collaborating Jews. In response, a new school of Jewish thought emerges, called the Zealots. --They viewed the freedom of the Jewish people as the highest good, for which one must be willing to fight to the death. --Led by Judas the Galilean, also called Judas of Gamala (Antiquities I.i.1) Behavior of Rome breeds sympathy and support for Zealots among previously moderate Jews: In 26 CE, Pilate tries to install Roman standards, with image of the eagle on them, in Jerusalem—Jews would rather die than obey. Pilate backs down. In 39 CE, Caligula declares himself to be divine, and orders that a statue of himself be placed in every Temple in the Roman empire. Only one Temple refuses, the one in Jerusalem. Jews willing to die instead of obeying—Caligula dies before this happens, but many join the Zealots, due to anxiety about Roman behavior toward Temple. In 66 CE, Gessius Florus becomes the last Roman Procurator of Judea. Intensifies conflict with the Jews after Romans sacrifice a chicken at doorway of synagogue in Caesarea Maritima. Sacrifice to Emperor halted in Temple in Jerusalem—Florus responds by plundering treasure from Temple. Riots ensue in Jerusalem, and the garrison of Roman soldiers in Jerusalem is destroyed. Reinforcements come from Syria, who are also routed. Many Jews join the Zealots, convinced that God is fighting for the Jews against the Romans, as God fought for Israel against the Seleucids at the time of the Hasmoneans two hundred years earlier. Led by John of Gischala and Eleazar. More radical group breaks off from Zealots called the Sicarii, named for the dagger they used to secretly kill Romans and the Jews who collaborated with them. Led by Simon. Rome responds by sending 60,000 Roman soldiers to area commanded by Vespasian. In 67 CE, Vespasian routs the Jewish army in Galilee and takes Josephus captive. 100,000 Jews in Galilee killed or enslaved. Refugees from Galilee flee to Jerusalem—Zealots and Sicarii kill Jews in Jerusalem who do not side with them. By 68 CE, the Zealots rule in Jerusalem, having killed all moderate Jerusalem leaders, and expelling many of the Sicarii. Rome lays siege to Jerusalem under Titus (Vespasian now made emperor) during Passover, when the city is jammed with people, along with the refugees from Galilee and elsewhere. Many die at hands of other Jews. Zealots set fire to food supply—massive starvation ensues. Page 3 of 4 Mercy Seminar, Term 2 | Opening comments II.1a Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai is smuggled out of Jerusalem in a coffin—Vespasian allows him to start a rabbinic academy in Yavne, south of Tel Aviv on the coast. Pick up this trajectory next week. 70 CE—Titus breaches the walls of Jerusalem and Roman soldiers engage in an orgy of bloodshed, resulting in the burning of the Temple and of much of the city of Jerusalem, as well as the destruction of the city walls. Josephus tells us that 97,000 were taken away as slaves, and 1,100,000 were killed in Jerusalem during the siege. Others estimate that between 600,000 and 1,000,000 were killed. Josephus rightly notes that this is the second major catastrophe for the Israelites after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians, though this time the Temple was never rebuilt. This gives rise to the second question I would like us to consider tonight: how does Josephus account for the tragedy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple? Why does he think it happened? Page 4 of 4 .
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