This last semester I took a class on Classical Rabbinic Thought and Literature, which was very helpful in trying to understand modern Judaism. Many Christians want to look at Modern Judaism, searching for the roots of Christianity. After all, Jesus was a Jew. While this sentiment may be admirable, it must be understood that modern Judaism is drastically different from what Jesus would have known. Christianity and Judaism may have started from the same roots, and similarities may still be visible in places, but they parted ways long ago.
For this class I had to write a term paper and I chose the topic of Angels in Classical Rabbinic Literature. What follows will be excerpts from that paper, comparing and contrasting common Christian beliefs about angels to what the Rabbis wrote about angels, starting in about 200AD. I think it gives a good glimpse of some interesting differences.
If you have questions about any of the terms used or the references, please feel free to ask. And now, without further ado, here is excerpt number one:
In spite of the dearth of information in the Mishna on the subject of Angels, Chazal had a number or things to say about them that can be found in others sources such as Genesis Rabbah, and the Talmud, as well as pseudepigraphal books such as Jubilees, Enoch, and various writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls. The English translation of the Tanakh itself contains over one hundred verses which specifically reference “angels” (Hebrew מלאך), in addition to places where other words may be used (such as “man” or “host”) but the context indicates that the reference is to angels. Rabbinic literature recognizes the presence of angels in scripture and then proceeds to expound upon their role, even in passages where their presence is not so readily apparent.
Angels in the Tanakh are seen as having basically two purposes: firstly they are messengers of the divine, and secondly they make up the court of heaven. (Fass, 281-282) In Rabbinic literature, angels often serve as a foil, both for man and God. They are often seen asking “unthinkable” questions or performing duties for God. They are also at times contrasted with humans.
Christianity and modern Judaism began to be developed around the same time, and thus they contain similar subjects, but often take diametrically opposed views on these topics. This can be seen in the study of angels. The book of Genesis is foundational to both faiths and contains many references to the supernatural in general and angels in specific. Christianity, with its belief that Jesus was God and its developing theology of the trinity, naturally looked to the Tanakh for earlier evidence and fastened on to Genesis 1:26 as one possible bit of support: “Let us make man in our image.” Both Judaism and Christianity want to emphasize the importance of every word recorded in scripture, and thus the plural pronoun cannot simply be glossed over without an attempt to explain and understand. Christianity argues that the pronoun is plural as God spoke to the other parts of the Godhead. Judaism has many alternate solutions, one of which involves angels: “R. Hanina [said] when He came to create Adam He took counsel with the ministering angels.” (Genesis Rabbah, VIII 4) The angels were conflicted in their opinion of the creation of man and debated among themselves. Within their debate more differences between Judaism and Christianity become apparent.
“Love and Truth fought together. Righteousness and Peace combated each other (Ps. 85:11): Love said, 'Let him be created, because he will dispense acts of love'; Truth said, 'Let him not be created, because he is compounded of falsehood'; Righteousness said, 'Let him be created, because he will perform righteous deeds; Peace said, 'Let him not be created, because he is full of strife.” (Gen. Rab., VIII 5)
The theology of modern Christianity at least, expresses a belief that when man created he was morally good, with no semblance of evil. Not until after Genesis 3 did he perpetrate falsehood and strife. This discussion among the angels, however, admits to no change in the nature of man. He has always been the same mixture of good and evil. Nevertheless, God, paying no attention to the debate, went ahead and created man.
2 comments:
Wikipedia says that Genesis Rabbah is essentially a third century commentary on Genesis. Is that correct and is it viewed as the inspired word of God in Judaism?
Yes, I believe that is a correct description. As far as whether or not it's inspired, well, that's more difficult to answer. Keep in mind that the "Doctrine of Inspiration" is a Christian doctrine. Jews don't necessarily view scripture in the same way. However, I would tentatively say that, in theory, Jews hold the Tanakh (or Hebrew Scriptures) in slightly higher regard than the writings of the rabbis. On the other hand, it's all Torah (teachings) - the Bible, the Midrash, the Talmud, the commentaries...Even when they disagree with each other, they are all "true." Judaism is actually a rather pluralistic religion. They might not call all these later writings "God's word," but they often treat them as if they were. While the Bible might hold a more prominent position in theory, in practice the Talmud tends to take priority. Clear as mud? It's a very confusing religion, especially for Western linear thinkers.
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