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(Mk 1:44): Jesus, Purity, and the Christian Study of Judaism Paula Fredriksen, Boston University
"Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded" (Mk 1:44): Jesus, Purity, and the Christian Study of Judaism Paula Fredriksen, Boston University In the last century, and especially in the last few decades, historians of Christianity have increasingly understood Jesus of Nazareth as a participant in the Judaism of his day. Many scholars, however, even when emphasizing Jesus' Jewish ethics, or his Jewish scriptural sensibility, or even the apocalyptic convictions which he shared with so many of his contemporaries, nevertheless draw the line at the biblical laws of purity. These laws rarely appear realistically integrated into an historical reconstruction of Jesus. Allied as they are with the ancient system of sacrifices, they seem obscure to modern religious sensibility; and with the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70, they soon became irrelevant to the later, largely Gentile church. Perhaps, too, such purity codes -- a hallmark of virtually all ancient religions -- are too disturbingly archaic to fit comfortably with modern constructions of Jesus and his message. Very recently, a handful of prominent New Testament historians and theologians have even argued that Jesus taught and acted specifically against the purity codes of his native Judaism. The repudiation of the biblical rules of purity, "the taboos of Torah," stood, they say, at the very heart of Jesus' ministry. Marcus Borg, for example, has urged that Jesus fought the "politics of purity," motivated as he was by a vision of a more compassionate society. Similarly, John Dominic Crossan portrays Jesus as a radical social egalitarian for whom the purity codes of the Temple system were morally and socially anathema. -
Rebuke in Tanḥuma- Yelammedenu Literature
chapter 8 An Inescapable Obligation: Rebuke in Tanḥuma- Yelammedenu Literature The final chapter of our exploration of early Jewish and Christian responses to Lev. 19:17 takes us to a late (or “post-classical”) midrashic text of ambigu- ous provenance: Midrash Tanḥuma. Like the term Midrash, Tanḥuma refers to both a process or genre of literature and an actual work.1 What I shall refer to as Tanḥuma Yelammedenu or simply Yelammedenu denotes a process or genre of Midrash that involves a particular set of features, especially a record of stu- dents requesting of a teacher that he teach them – yelammedenu rabbenu, the phrase from which this genre derives its name.2 Yelammedenu traditions ap- pear in a number of later midrashic texts including Shemot Rabbah, Bemidbar Rabbah, and Devarim Rabbah, as well as Pesiqta Rabbati. What I shall designate here as Midrash Tanḥuma or simply Tanḥuma is a collection of midrashim or- ganized according to a triennial cycle of Pentateuchal readings. This collec- tion, which will be our primary focus, appears in two main versions typically referred to as the “printed edition” and the “Buber edition,” the latter named for its editor Salomon Buber. Previous generations of scholars debated the existence of an “early Tanḥuma” that preserved more “original” versions of the traditions found in our extant collections.3 There has also been significant debate over the dating of the Tanḥuma collections more generally. Contemporary work on Tanḥuma Yelammedenu suggests that this genre “began to crystallize toward the end of the Byzantine period in Palestine (5–7th cen. CE), but continued to evolve and spread throughout the Diaspora well into the Middle Ages, sometimes devel- oping different recensions of a common text.”4 The major versions of Midrash Tanḥuma as we know them stem from the medieval period with the printed edition likely redacted in geonic Babylonia and the Buber edition redacted in 1 See Bregman, Sifrut Tanḥuma-Yelammedenu, chap. -
Parshat Naso
Parshat Naso A free excerpt from the Kehot Publication Society's Chumash Bemidbar/Book of Numbers with commentary based on the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, produced by Chabad of California. The full volume is available for purchase at www.kehot.com. For personal use only. All rights reserved. The right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form, requires permission in writing from Chabad of California, Inc. THE TORAH - CHUMASH BEMIDBAR WITH AN INTERPOLATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BASED ON THE WORKS OF THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE Copyright © 2006-2009 by Chabad of California THE TORAHSecond,- revisedCHUMASH printingB 2009EMIDBAR WITH AN INTERPOLATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARYA BprojectASED ON of THE WORKS OF ChabadTHE LUBAVITCH of CaliforniaREBBE 741 Gayley Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024 310-208-7511Copyright / Fax © 310-208-58112004 by ChabadPublished of California, by Inc. Kehot Publication Society 770 Eastern Parkway,Published Brooklyn, by New York 11213 Kehot718-774-4000 Publication / Fax 718-774-2718 Society 770 Eastern Parkway,[email protected] Brooklyn, New York 11213 718-774-4000 / Fax 718-774-2718 Order Department: 291 KingstonOrder Avenue, Department: Brooklyn, New York 11213 291 Kingston718-778-0226 Avenue / /Brooklyn, Fax 718-778-4148 New York 11213 718-778-0226www.kehot.com / Fax 718-778-4148 www.kehotonline.com All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book All rightsor portions reserved, thereof, including in any the form, right without to reproduce permission, this book or portionsin writing, thereof, from in anyChabad form, of without California, permission, Inc. in writing, from Chabad of California, Inc. The Kehot logo is a trademark ofThe Merkos Kehot L’Inyonei logo is a Chinuch,trademark Inc. -
Deuteronomy Humash 5
Inquire And Explore With Wisdom Rabbi Michael Graetz הרב מיכאל מרדכי יוסף גרץ תורה שבעל פה Talking Torah How Torah Talks to Us when We Talk Torah A case presentation of the Process of Midrash through generations, which shows how the basic ideas of Judaism were mined and refined from the gold lode of Torah. דברים Volume 5 Deuteronomy Special Shabbatot and Selected Haftarot Omer, Israel 5775 1 Contents Parasha Page Devarim 3 Va-Ethanan 18 Ekev 29 Re'eh 41 Shoftim 51 Ki Tezei 60 Ki Tavo 74 Nitzavim 84 Va-Yelekh 92 Ha'azinu 98 Ve-zot ha-Brakha 111 Special Shabbatot and Haftarot 123 KEY TO TALKING TORAH THEMES 1 H Hebrew language as basis of Midrash and as structure of Torah 2 L Literary characteristics of Midrash 3 MI Midah ke-neged Midah [narrative meaning] 4 T Theology in Midrash 5 K Knowledge and Intellectual power are part of the Holy Spirit which exists because of the partnership of man and God 6 E Egalitarian ideas in Midrash 7 P Pluralism as basis of Judaism's view of humanity 8 U Universal vs. Particular in Midrash 9 M Moral and ethical considerations in Midrash 10 HA Halakha and development of halakha 11 TA Ta’am Mitzvot reasons for Mitzvot 12 PR Prayer 13 B Basic ideas of Judaism 14 ED Education 2 BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY דברים Parashat Devarim *Deut. 1, 1 - 4 These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan. Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab, it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route. -
TORAH SPARKS Meat with Milk - Like Blood, Another Symbol of Life
ב׳׳ה (Dvar Torah continued from front page…) so bitterly about missing meat that God sent enough quail to kill them (Bemidbar 11:4-34). With the building of the Mishkan and institution of the sacrifices, the consumption of meat was both limited, and elevated, further. One could only eat the meat of certain kosher animals (see Vayikra 11 Parashat Shmini, and Devarim 14:3-21 in our parashah), and only then when bringing them as a korban shelamim (peace offering) - the main course of a shared holy meal with the priests and God. And to the prohibition of consuming blood, the Torah added the prohibition of eating TORAH SPARKS meat with milk - like blood, another symbol of life. With everything trending in that direction, it may seem odd that in our parashah Parashat Re’eh we find a verse that widens the consumption of meat. Deuteronomy 12:20 says “When the LORD your God expands your borders, as he has promised you, and Shabbat Rosh Hodesh you say, ‘I shall eat some meat’, because you long to eat meat; you may eat meat August 31, 2019 | 30 Av 5779 whenever you wish.” We might have expected this to mean that altars would be Annual (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17): Etz Hayim p. 1061-1084; Hertz p. 799-818 set up throughout Israelite territory so that one would not have to travel to bring Triennial (Deuteronomy 15:1-16:17): Etz Hayim p. 1076-1084; Hertz p. 811-818 and consume sacrificial meat. But with the Torah’s preference for a single Haftarah (Isaiah 66:1-24,23): Etz Hayim p. -
BEMIDBAR SELECTED SHORTS Rabbi Eliot Malomet May 15, 2021 4 Sivan 5781
BEMIDBAR SELECTED SHORTS Rabbi Eliot Malomet May 15, 2021 4 Sivan 5781 Egypt He counted them (Exodus 12:37), when רבדמב א :׳ א׳ many of them fell in consequence of their having )א( יַ ו דְ ֵבַּ ר֨ 'ה ֶשֹׁמ־לֶא ה֛ מְ בּ דִ בְּ ַ ר֥ ניִ ס ַ ֖ י ֹאְ בּ לֶה֣ ﬠוֹמ ֵ ד֑ ֩דָחֶאְ בּ ֹחַל ד֨ שֶׁ שֶׁ ד֨ ֹחַל ֩דָחֶאְ בּ ד֑ ֵ ﬠוֹמ לֶה֣ ֹאְ בּ י ֖ ַ ניִ ס ר֥ ַ בְּ דִ מְ בּ ה֛ ֶשֹׁמ־לֶא 'ה ר֨ ֵבַּ דְ יַ ו )א( worshipped the golden calf He counted them to ִנֵשַּׁה י֜ ָנָשַּׁבּ ה֣ ִנֵשַּׁה תי֗ ָתאֵצְל ם֛ ֶאֵמ ץֶר֥ ַרְצִמ י֖ םִ ֹמאֵל ׃רֽ Numbers 1:1 ascertain the number of those left; when he was (1) On the first day of the second month, in the about to make His Shechinah dwell amongst second year following the exodus from the land of them, He again took their census; for on the first Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the wil- day of Nisan the Tabernacle was erected and derness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying… shortly afterwards, on the first day of Iyar, He So much information compressed in that first counted them. What’s the deal with all this verse. We are in the desert. It’s year two. The counting? Counting is a process of ordering. exodus is behind us. Rabbi jonathan Sacks notes Counting is organizing and shaping. Counting is the contrast between Numbers and Exodus. imposition of frameworks and structure. -
Chukat Artscroll P.838 | Haftarah P.1187 Hertz P.652 | Haftarah P.664 Soncino P.898 | Haftarah P.911
13 July 2019 10 Tammuz 5779 Shabbat ends London 10.16pm Jerusalem 8.28pm Volume 31 No. 45 Chukat Artscroll p.838 | Haftarah p.1187 Hertz p.652 | Haftarah p.664 Soncino p.898 | Haftarah p.911 In loving memory of Yehuda ben Yaakov HaCohen “Speak to the Children of Israel, and they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come” (Bemidbar 19:2). 1 Sidrah Summary: Chukat 1st Aliya (Kohen) – Bemidbar 19:1-17 Kadesh through his land. Despite Moshe’s God tells Moshe and Aharon to teach the nation assurances that they will not take any of his the laws of the Red Heifer ( ). The resources, Edom refuses and comes out to unblemished animal, which hPaasr anhe vAedr uhmada h a yoke threaten the Israelites militarily. The Israelites upon it, is to be given to Elazar, Aharon’s son, who turn away. must slaughter it outside the camp. It is then to be 5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 20:22-21:9 burned by a different Kohen, who must also throw The nation travels from Kadesh to Mount Hor. some cedar wood, hyssop and crimson thread Upon God’s command, Moshe, Aharon and Elazar into the fire. Both he and Elazar will become ritually ascend Mount Hor. Elazar dons Aharon’s special impure ( ) through this preparatory process. (High Priest) garments, after which In contratasmt, ethe ashes of the Heifer, when mixed AKhohareonn G daiedso.l The nation mourns Aharon’s death with water, are used to purify someone who has for 30 days (see p.3 article). -
Introduction
INTRODUCTION Hanne Trautner-Kromann n this introduction I want to give the necessary background information for understanding the nine articles in this volume. II start with some comments on the Hebrew or Jewish Bible and the literature of the rabbis, based on the Bible, and then present the articles and the background information for these articles. In Jewish tradition the Bible consists of three main parts: 1. Torah – Teaching: The Five Books of Moses: Genesis (Bereshit in Hebrew), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vajikra), Numbers (Bemidbar), Deuteronomy (Devarim); 2. Nevi’im – Prophets: (The Former Prophets:) Joshua, Judges, Samuel I–II, Kings I–II; (The Latter Prophets:) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezek- iel; (The Twelve Small Prophets:) Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephania, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi; 3. Khetuvim – Writings: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles I–II1. The Hebrew Bible is often called Tanakh after these three main parts: Torah, Nevi’im and Khetuvim. The Hebrew Bible has been interpreted and reinterpreted by rab- bis and scholars up through the ages – and still is2. Already in the Bible itself there are examples of interpretation (midrash). The books of Chronicles, for example, can be seen as a kind of midrash on the 10 | From Bible to Midrash books of Samuel and Kings, repeating but also changing many tradi- tions found in these books. In talmudic times,3 dating from the 1st to the 6th century C.E.(Common Era), the rabbis developed and refined the systems of interpretation which can be found in their literature, often referred to as The Writings of the Sages. -
E Essence of Purity
112 | על מהות הטהרה !e Essence of Purity e Red Heifer and the Color Wheel One of the great fundamentals revealed in the Torah is the process of shaking off the defilement of death. It is effected via the ashes of the Parah Adumah , the mysterious Red Heifer. By sprinkling a mixture of ashes of a red cow, water and other ingredients upon one who is “impure,” his status changes to “pure.” "e Torah itself calls this process a special chukah, a unique statute, implying that the human intellect cannot properly understand it. Nevertheless, let us try, with the limited means at our disposal, to approach an understanding of some of the sublime concepts embodied in the Red Heifer purification process – if only to fulfill the words of our master and prophet, Moshe Rabbeinu: ִ... <ִי הָוא חְכַמְתֶכ! 1ִבַינְתֶכְ! לֵ:ֵינָי ּהַ:ִמ 9י! ׁאֶש ִר ׁיְש ְמֵע01 אָּת כַל הֻחִּקי! ָּהֵאֶל ְה וָאְמַר1 רַק :ָ! חָכְ! וָנַב0A הADַי ּהָג ַדAל ּהֶזה. ...for [the Torah] is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the nations, who will hea r all these statutes and say, “Only this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” ִ... 1מָי ADי ּג 9דAל ׁאֶש ֻר לA חִּקִי! 1ׁמְש ָּפִטַי! צ ִּדִיקְּ! כַכֹל הAFָרַה ּהזֹאת... ... and which great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances, as this entire Torah? ... (D’varim 4,6-8) The Essence of Purity | Metzora | 113 To this end, we will turn to the physical world, and specifically to the world of color. Let us study the spectrum of the seven colors of the rainbow formed by the diffusion of light rays by drops of water or a prism. -
Kohelet, Tolstoy and the Red Heifer (Chukat 5780)
בס"ד חקת תש״ף Chukat 5780 Scan (after Shabbat) to join one of Rabbi Sacks’ WhatsApp groups. “With thanks to Te Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation for their generous sponsorship of Covenant & Conversation. Maurice was a visionary philanthropist. Vivienne was a woman of the deepest humility. Together, they were a unique partnership of dedication and grace, for whom living was giving.” Kohelet, Tolstoy and the Red Heifer The command of the parah adumah, the Red Heifer, with which our parsha begins, is known as the hardest of the mitzvot to understand. The opening words, zot chukat ha-Torah, are taken to mean, this is the supreme example of a chok in the Torah, that is, a law whose logic is obscure, perhaps unfathomable. It was a ritual for the purification of those who had been in contact with, or in, certain forms of proximity to a dead body. A dead body is the primary source of impurity, and the defilement it caused to the living meant that the person so affected could not enter the precincts of the Tabernacle or Temple until cleansed, in a process that lasted seven days. A key element of the purification process involved a Priest sprinkling the person so affected, on the third and seventh day, with a specially prepared liquid known as “the water of cleansing.” First a Red Heifer had to be found, without a blemish, and which had never been used to perform work: a yoke had never been placed on it. This was ritually killed and burned outside the camp. Cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool were added to the fire, and the ashes placed in a vessel containing “living” i.e. -
Mikveh and the Sanctity of Being Created Human
chapter 3 Mikveh and the Sanctity of Being Created Human Susan Grossman This paper was approved by the CJLS on September 13, 2006 by a vote of four- teen in favor, one opposed and four abstaining (14-1-4). Members voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Elliot Dorff, Aaron Mackler, Robert Harris, Robert Fine, David Wise, Daniel Nevins, Alan Lucas, Joel Roth, Myron Geller, Pamela Barmash, Gordon Tucker, Vernon Kurtz, and Susan Grossman. Members voting against: Rabbi Leonard Levy. Members abstaining: Rabbis Joseph Prouser, Loel Weiss, Paul Plotkin, and Avram Reisner. Sheilah How should we, as modern Conservative Jews, observe the laws tradition- ally referred to under the rubric Tohorat HaMishpahah (The Laws of Family Purity)?1 Teshuvah Introduction Judaism is our path to holy living, for turning the world as it is into the world as it can be. The Torah is our guide for such an ambitious aspiration, sanctified by the efforts of hundreds of generations of rabbis and their communities to 1 The author wishes to express appreciation to all the following who at different stages com- mented on this work: Dr. David Kraemer, Dr. Shaye Cohen, Dr. Seth Schwartz, Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky, z”l, Rabbi James Michaels, Annette Muffs Botnick, Karen Barth, and the mem- bers of the CJLS Sub-Committee on Human Sexuality. I particularly want to express my appreciation to Dr. Joel Roth. Though he never published his halakhic decisions on tohorat mishpahah (“family purity”), his lectures and teaching guided countless rabbinical students and rabbinic colleagues on this subject. In personal communication with me, he confirmed that the below psak (legal decision) and reasoning offered in his name accurately reflects his teaching. -
Chukat, Torah
Chukat, Torah במדבר י״ט:א׳-כ׳:כ״א Numbers 19:1-20:21 (1) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, (א) ַוְיַד ֵ ֣בּר ְי ֹהָ֔וה ֶאל־ ֹמ ֶ ֥שׁה ְו ֶ ֽאל־ ַא ֲה֖ ֹרן saying: (2) This is the ritual law that the ֵלא ֹֽמר׃ (ב) ֚ ֹזאת ֻחַ ֣קּת ַהתּוָֹ֔רה ֲא ֶשׁר־ ִ ָצ ֥וּה LORD has commanded: Instruct the ְי ֹ ָה ֖וה ֵלא ֹ֑מר ַדּ ֵ ֣בּר ׀ ֶאל־ ְבֵּ ֣ני ִי ְשָׂר ֵ֗אל ְוִי ְק ֣חוּ Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect ֵא ֶ֩לי ֩ ָפָ ֨רה ֲאֻד ָ֜מּה ְתּ ִמי ָ֗מה ֲא ֶ ֤שׁר ֵ ֽאין־ ָבּ ֙הּ and on which no yoke has been laid. (3) You ֔מוּם ֲא ֶ ֛שׁר ֹלא־ ָﬠָ ֥לה ָﬠֶ ֖לי ָה ֹֽﬠל׃ (ג) וּ ְנ ַתֶ ֣תּם shall give it to Eleazar the priest. It shall be ֹא ָ֔תהּ ֶאל־ ֶא ְל ָﬠָ ֖זר ַה ֹכּ ֵ ֑הן ְוהוֹ ִ ֤ציא ֹא ָת ֙הּ taken outside the camp and slaughtered in ֶאל־ ִמ ֣חוּץ ַֽל ַמּ ֲחֶ֔נה ְו ָשׁ ַ ֥חט ֹא ָ ֖תהּ ְל ָפָֽניו׃ (ד) his presence. (4) Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and ְו ָל ַ֞קח ֶא ְל ָﬠָ ֧זר ַה ֹכּ ֵ ֛הן ִמָדּ ָ ֖מהּ ְבּ ֶא ְצ ָבּ ֑ﬠוֹ ְו ִהָ֞זּה sprinkle it seven times toward the front of ֶאל־ ֹ֨נ ַכח ְפֵּ ֧ני ֹֽא ֶהל־מוֹ ֵ ֛ﬠד ִמָדּ ָ ֖מהּ ֶ ֥שׁ ַבע the Tent of Meeting. (5) The cow shall be ְפּ ָﬠ ִֽמים׃ (ה) ְו ָשַׂ ֥רף ֶאת־ ַה ָפָּ ֖רה ְל ֵﬠיָ ֑ניו burned in his sight—its hide, flesh, and ֶאת־ ֹעָ ֤רהּ ְו ֶאת־ ְבּ ָשָׂר ֙הּ ְו ֶאת־ָדּ ָ֔מהּ —blood shall be burned, its dung included (6) and the priest shall take cedar wood, ַﬠל־ ִפְּר ָ ֖שׁהּ ִי ְשֽׂ ֹרף׃ (ו) ְו ָל ַ ֣קח ַה ֹכּ ֵ֗הן ֵ ֥ﬠץ ֶ ֛אֶרז hyssop, and crimson stuff, and throw them ְו ֵא֖זוֹב וּ ְשִׁ ֣ני תוָֹ ֑ל ַﬠת ְו ִה ְשׁ ִ֕לי ֶאל־ ֖תּוֹ into the fire consuming the cow.