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Halakhah of Jesus of Nazareth According to the Gospel of Matthew Studies in Biblical Literature

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Halakhah of Jesus of Nazareth According to the Gospel of Matthew Studies in Biblical Literature THE HALAKHAH OF JESUS OF NAZARETH ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW Studies in Biblical Literature Number 18 The Halakhah of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospel of Matthew THE HALAKHAH OF JESUS OF NAZARETH ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW by Phillip Sigal Society of Biblical Literature Atlanta THE HALAKHAH OF JESUS OF NAZARETH ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW Copyright © 2007 by Lillian Sigal All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sigal, Phillip. The halakhah of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospel of Matthew / by Phillip Sigal. p. cm. — (Society of Biblical Literature studies in biblical literature ; no. 18) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN: 978-1-58983-282-4 (paper binding : alk. paper) 1. BJesus Christ—Teachings. 2. Divorce—Biblical teaching. 3. Sabbath—Biblical teaching. 4. Bible. N.T. Matthew—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 5. Jewish law. 6. Jesus Christ—Views on Jewish law. I. Title. BS2415.S55 2007b 226.2'06—dc22 2007020485 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, recycled paper conforming to ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) and ISO 9706:1994 standards for paper permanence. Contents Introduction, by Lillian Sigal ix Brought Forth, Newly Adorned, by Saul (Simcha) Prombaum xiii Foreword, by Eugene J. Fisher xvii Preface xxi Abbreviations xxiii 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Thesis 1 1.2. Aspects of Earlier Scholarship 12 1.2.1. How Some Scholars See Matthew’s Perspective on Jesus 12 1.2.2. Understanding “the Law” 15 1.2.3. The Love Command Factor 21 1.2.4. The Meaning of Matthew 5:17–20 24 1.3. Recapitulation and Projection 27 1.3.1. Recapitulation 27 1.3.2. Projection 28 1.3.2.1. Premises 28 1.3.2.2. Sources 28 1.3.2.3. Methodology 29 1.4. The Chapter Sequence 29 2. Stages in the Formation of Rabbinic Halakhah 33 2.1. Preexilic Origins 33 2.2. Preexilic Diversity and Postexilic Retrenchment to the Hasmonean Era 36 2.2.1. 587 b.c.e. to the Nehemiah Reformation 36 2.2.2. From Ezra-Nehemiah to the Known Proto Rabbis 38 2.2.3. The Great Assembly 40 2.2.4. The Second Century b.c.e. 43 2.3. From Earliest Proto-Rabbis to the Era of Jesus 47 2.3.1. The Early “Fathers” 47 2.3.2. A Historical Resume 55 2.4. Summary 59 vi CONTENTS 3. Proto-Rabbinic Halakhic Activity 61 3.1. Factors in Reinterpretation and Innovation of Halakhah 61 3.1.1. Proto-Rabbinic Authority 61 3.1.2. On Dating Rabbinic Texts 66 3.2. A Profile of Proto-Rabbinic Halakhic Premises 69 3.2.1. Religio-Humanitarian Concerns in Halakhah 69 3.2.2. The Historical Factor 76 3.2.3. Hermeneutics and Exegesis 78 3.2.4. The Tendency toward Leniency 87 3.2.5. The Principle of Lifnim Meshurat Hadin 93 3.3. Summary 97 4. The Matthean Jesus and the Halakhah of Divorce 105 4.1. General Overview 105 4.2. Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 and the Meaning of Porneia 117 4.3. Matthew 5:17–19 and the Divorce Pericopae 125 4.4. Divorce in Postpentateuchal Sources 127 4.4.1. Elephantine 127 4.4.2. Ezra and Nehemiah 128 4.4.3. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha 130 4.4.4. Philo 131 4.4.5. Qumran 135 4.5. Summary 140 5. The Matthean Jesus and the Sabbath Halakhah 145 5.1. General Overview 145 5.2. Plucking, Picking and/or Rubbing Grain on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1–8) 155 5.3. Healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9–13) 165 5.4. Pentateuchal and Extrapentateuchal Sabbath Halakhah 172 5.4.1. The Pentateuch 172 5.4.2. The Prophets 173 5.4.3. The Writings 173 5.4.4. The Book of Jubilees 174 5.4.5. Philo 177 5.4.6. Qumran: The Zadokite Fragment 180 5.5. Summary 185 6. Summary and Conclusions 187 6.1. Summary 187 6.2. Conclusions 191 CONTENTS vii Epilogue: Twenty Years after Sigal: Jesus as Proto-Rabbinic Teacher of Halakhah, by Thomas Kazen 195 Jesus within Judaism 195 Who Is Matthew’s Jesus? 198 Who Were the Proto-Rabbis? 200 Jesus as Halakhic Teacher 202 The Dialogue Continues 206 Bibliography 207 Bibliography 213 Index of Ancient Sources 227 Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 227 Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books 231 Pseudepigrapha 231 Dead Sea Scrolls 232 New Testament 233 Philo 235 Josephus 236 Mishnah 237 Tosefta 239 Babylonian Talmud 240 Jerusalem/Palestinian Talmud 243 Targums 244 Other Rabbinic Literature 245 Other 246 Index of Authors 247 Index of Proper and Place Names 251 Index of Greek and Hebrew Words 255 Index of Subjects 259 Introduction Lillian Sigal In a personal and intellectual journal encompassing his life from 1942 until his death in 1985, my husband Phillip Sigal described himself as “one aspir- ing human being seeking truth and the way of God.” That simple statement epitomizes the ethos of his life and was a major motivation for his writing this book. His search for truth, he wrote, led him to strive for “flexible tran- scendence of denomination and the amalgamation of ideals and ‘embracing’ posture for halakha.” Phillip’s spiritual odyssey spanned virtually the entire range of the Jewish religious spectrum: from Hasidic and non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox, through Modern Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, to a form of Juda- ism that transcended denominationalism and sought rapprochement with Christianity. That transcending posture was modeled for him as early as his Bar Mitzvah in a Hasidic shtiebel (synagogue) in Toronto, where he was born and bred. He records in his journal how his teacher, the esteemed Lithu- anian non-Hasidic Orthodox Rabbi Kamenetsky, surprised the congregants when he entered the shtiebel and was greeted and embraced by the venerable Galician Hasidic Rabbi Weinrib. The coming together of these two rabbis represented the meeting of two groups that had been feuding furiously for generations. In his preface to the original publication of this book, Phillip traces his interest in Jesus to various factors, beginning with his undergraduate college years. I believe, however, that his journal reveals his earlier affinities with the Galilean sage. He writes, for example, that as a child he had an intimation of his destiny in a remarkable dream. He dreamed that he stood before a mirror and observed reflected in it, much to his amazement and bewilder- ment, the image of Jesus of Nazareth. The precise meaning of that dream still remains a mystery to me. Nevertheless, in this brief introduction, I would like to suggest some clues by highlighting aspects of Phillip’s spiritual jour- ney that indicate an evolving religio-humanitarian disposition similar to that of Jesus. -ix- THE HALAKHAH OF JESUS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW Phillip’s earliest mentor, Rabbi Kamenetsky, who taught him the rudi- ments of old-style rabbinic scholarship and how to master a “blatt gemara,” the raw text of the Talmud, also gave him his earliest insights for recogniz- ing that authentic halakhah must be inspired by ethical motivation. When ready to move on to a higher level of study at age fifteen, Phillip enrolled in Mesifta Torah Vadaath, in Brooklyn, New York, an ultra-Orthodox insti- tution of higher Jewish learning of talmudic codes and commentaries. His journal reveals a wrenching and disillusioning transitional period in his life at Mesifta. He deplored Mesifta’s narrowness and policy of nonfraterniza- tion with non-Orthodox Jews and its meticulous practice of externals devoid of inwardness. Rebelling against the externalism of Mesifta, he struggled to unshackle himself from years of ingrained doctrine. Yet, he maintained a rev- erence for inner piety and halakhah but not heavy ritualism. Moreover, he valued the Hasidic idea that one should welcome, not spurn, people regard- less of their “state of sin.” He increasingly was drawn to the true religion of a sincere heart and prayer recited with inner feeling rather than formalism. Groping and growing intellectually almost daily with a “burning quest to know,” he strove for a synthesis of heart and mind in Judaism. From Mesifta, he moved on to the Modern Orthodox Yeshivah University. Just a year from ordination, still seeking a less constricting academic environment, he entered the Jewish TheologicalS eminary (JTS) of the Conservative Movement, where his next halakhic mentor was the renowned Saul Lieberman, from whom he gained the modern historical-critical tools of halakhic study. Following ordination at JTS, Phillip began a career as a Conservative rabbi, throughout which he was deeply active in promoting Jewish-Chris- tian understanding and collaboration in social justice issues. In 1975, he wrote: “What is my identity? What am I? I think I am a scholar, a writer and a researcher. But I am also, deep in my heart and being, a rabbi. Are not the two the same?” He combined his two passions as secretary of the Conser- vative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, in which he consistently argued for liberal interpretations of the halakhah, in his writ- ten responsa and published articles.
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