Purposes

“Perhaps we could succeed in vanishing without a trace if they would let us be, but they will not let us be. After brief periods of toleration their hostility erupts again and again.”

~Theodor Herzl (from Ideological Perspectives by Gideon Shimoni, p.10)

Herzl, one of the founders of Zionism, maintained that the main thing that defined the Jews as a people was their enemies. Others argued that shared history, culture, and religion were more important in defining this separate people. These things are certainly important, but Herzl discounted them as the most important. He had a point. Especially with the advent of the Enlightenment and the emancipation of the Jews, many Jews began to assimilate into the societies in which they found themselves, adopting the culture, and, in many cases, the religion. These adaptations did not end the persecution of the Jews, however. Indeed, assimilated Jews could even be considered more of a “threat” in the anti-Semitic propaganda that circulated. With all the different branches and schisms within Judaism itself, it is possible that the Jews as a cohesive people would have ceased to exist, if it were not for the persecution that lumped them all back together.

In Jewish and Christian circles the question is often asked, “How could a loving and just God have allowed something as terrible as the holocaust?” It is a valid question to wrestle through and has no simplistic answer, in part because our finite minds cannot grasp the infinite purposes of God. However, I wonder if, in part, God allowed the holocaust to preserve the Jewish people. It sounds contradictory, but the holocaust brought Jews all over the world together as nothing else would have.*

The next often asked and debated question is then, "Does God have a plan for the Jewish people?" I would argue that their survival in spite of the odds, and the existence of a Jewish state, clearly indicate that God has a plan for the Jewish people. It is less clear what that plan is and how it fits into the Biblical account. There are passionate opinions on both sides, which I don't want to go into in this post. I merely wanted to pass along the thought that, in a round-about-way, perhaps the holocaust offers evidence that God has a plan for the Jewish people.

*Please know that I am not at all defending the holocaust. It was a horrible thing. I am simply stating that I believe that God is sovereign and good, and therefore, maybe this was one of His purposes in allowing this event.

Reflections in Galilee

Last week I had the opportunity to head north for a few days with a friend and her mom. We visited various places in the Galilee/Golan region of the country, most of which I had seen before. However, the weather and seasonal differences helped to make the sites a new experience.

Our first day we went west and then north from Jerusalem along the route our guide-for-the-day called the "Via Maris." (Note for geeks: that is not the correct term, historically speaking. The ancients never called it the way of the sea. The usage of that term is a modern misunderstanding.) Our first stop was Megiddo. It was the fourth time I'd been there, and I still haven't managed to leave my own destruction layer, but perhaps that will come next time. The day was a lovely mix of rain and sun, just enough to give us the first rainbow of the day on Masada, along with a lovely view of the Jezreel Valley.

The rain made our plans a little uncertain, so for our next stop we ended up at Sepphoris/Zipori. It was only my second time there, so I enjoyed looking around and being more aware of what I was seeing (Nazareth, Gath-hepher, Cana, Hanathon...) It cleared off beautifully just as we approached the summit and tower, enabling us to get a great view of the Beth-Netophah Valley.

From there we continued on to Hazor...my second visit there, and the second "Solomonic Gate" of the day.

Our final stop ended up being Zafat, one of the more important religious cities in Jewish history. Jewish Mysticism (Kabalah) originated in Zafat. We went through the "Old City," and would have like to spend some time exploring, but our guide was single-minded, taking us to three of the oldest Synagogues in the town. They were very interesting to see, but I made a mental note that someday I want to go back there on my own time and explore.

Our guide dropped us at the Christ Church associated guest house in Migdal, just off the shores of Kinneret. (I believe the town name is associated with the hometown of Mary Magdala.) The next morning we caught a bus into Tiberias where we rented a car for the remainder of our adventure.

Our first stop on the second day (other than ElDan) was Ginosaur where the so-called "Jesus-Boat" is on display. I had seen the boat before, but it was quite a while ago, before it was moved to its current museum display area. It's really quite impressive that a boat from around the time of Jesus survived to the modern day, and their methods of preserving it as it was extracted from the sands in which it was buried are also quite impressive.

Next we ended up at Chorazin. It was, again, my second visit, and again, the first was long ago. I enjoyed climbing things, taking pictures, and looking at plants. In fact, most of my trip could be summed up those three activities.

After that we headed into the far north, visiting Dan, Banias, and Nimrod's Fortress. Again, none of them were new sites, but I saw them with more water and foliage than I had seen before, so it was a fun perspective. Additionally, Mt. Hermon was visible from many places, in all its snow-covered glory. Unfortunately, we didn't get close enough to actually touch snow...but at least I saw it.

Proof of skiing facilities nearby:

On our way home from Nimrod we saw numerous cars parked along the side of the road with lots of people out, climbing over the hillside. Wondering if something interesting was to be seen, we got out and looked around and found this:

For our final day we started our morning on the beautiful Mt. Arbel, with a dramatic view of Galilee, into the Golan. In the background you can see Hermon in its winter finery.

With the sun shining and puddles from the recent rain scattering the landscape, I had fun trying to take pictures with reflections. I think it looks like a little piece of the sky escaped and is watering the plant below it.

After Arbel we drove to the east side of the lake where we visited Capernaum, Kursi, and Hippos.

Our final stop was the epic decapolis city, the entrance to the Harod pass, Beth Shean.

All in all, it was fun to get out of the city and do a little extra exploring and thinking. Hopefully I'll manage to do something similar again this semester.

Merry Christmas....again...

That's right! Christmas comes but thrice a year, here in Jerusalem. Today was the third and final Christmas of this winter season (though technically only the second one this year). For a variety of different reasons, different groups celebrate Christmas on the 25th (Protestant and Catholics), the 6th (Epiphany - Greek Orthodox, and apparently Armenians on other parts of the world) and the 19th (Armenians here...perhaps partly because they adhere to the old calendar and perhaps partly because by celebrating on a different date they get the "holy places" more or less to themselves). At least that's my current understanding of the situation. Religious things tend to be rather complex around here, so doubtless I'm forgetting something.

Anyway, today, to celebrate Christmas, I wandered around the Old City with a friend. We stopped in to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher: a good reminder that whenever he was born (almost certainly not December or January), this baby was born to die.

People wait in line to go into the traditional site of the tomb of Christ

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (conclusion)

While the study of angels in Classical Rabbinic Literature is interesting in itself, rife with entertaining stories and varying opinions, it is perhaps most interesting to consider what Chazal said about the Jews, and about Christians, through their comments on angels. “The angels, it seems were fertile ground for any number of polemic and apologetic purposes. It is probably that their imaginary and mythological character helped fuel the creative uses to which they were put.” (Fass, 287) As we have seen, angels in Rabbinic literature often compare poorly to humans. They were used to emphasize God’s love for and commitment toward mankind, especially Israel. Perhaps this expression of favoritism helped in the preservation of the Jewish identity in spite of the odds. (Fass, 281) In other stories, the actions assigned to angels make a point to contradict the Christian interpretation of the same events. Though springing from the same source, the differences between Christian and Jewish theology begin to become surprisingly apparent as each religions’ view of angels is examined. Christianity tends to see angels as morally and powerfully superior to men, though it recognizes a difference in purpose, which at times enables men to surpass them in certain ways. Judaism, on the other hand, often sees angels as below humans. There are still points of similarity between both views: both consider angels to be messengers of God (as fits with the meaning of the Hebrew word מלאך). Both also share a belief in demons, though they might differ on the exact nature of those demons. Nevertheless, these points of similarity are pretty superficial compared to the huge differences which lurk under the surface. For having started at roughly the same point, Judaism and Christianity have drawn a long ways apart over the years, as the study of the angelology of each reveals.

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 3)

Rabbinical expansions of the Akeda (Binding of Isaac) also contain many references to angels, in spite of the fact that the original story mentions only one angel towards the end. Some of these expansions begin with an accusing angel encouraging God to test Abraham’s devotion, similar to the story in Job. (Bernstesin, 266-267) Most often the angels are motivated by jealousy of man. After inciting God to action, another angel (or perhaps the same one) then strove to keep Abraham from obeying God’s command, warning that if he obeyed, he would then be guilty of murder. When Abraham refused to listen, the angel then turned to Isaac, trying to get him to rebel against his father. (Gen. Rab., LVI 4) This one type of angel seen in the story is characterized by pettiness and jealousy, if not outright evil, depending on the version. There are, however, other angels included in the story. Some of these angels appear to only watch the actions of Abraham and Isaac, admiring such devotion to God from afar. (Bernstein, 277) Then, some stories reference a different type of angel, saying that Abraham’s knife was dissolved in their tears. (Gen. Rab., LVI 7) Some versions even include singing angels. (Bernstein, 283) The final type of angel, the only one that actually appears in the Biblical text, is the one who interferes at God’s command.

Angels also play an important role in the giving of the Torah in Rabbinic literature, although the exact form of that role may be debated. Jubilees has them dictating the Torah to Moses. (Najman, 316) This could possibly play well into the Christian idea (Hebrews 1 and 2) of angels and the old covenant being inferior to Jesus and the new covenant. (Najman, 322) In the Talmud, however, they act territorial and jealous when Moses is brought to heaven to get the Torah. (Fass, 287)

When Moses ascended into Heaven, said the angels before the Holy One, blessed be He, “Lord of the Universe! What has one born of a woman to do among us?” The Lord answered: " He came to receive the Torah." Said the angels again: “Wouldst Thou give a precious thing that Thou hast preserved since nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the creation of the world to a being of flesh and blood? (Bab. Tal. Shabbat 88b)

Upon hearing the angels object, God commands Moses to answer. Moses answers their objections by citing humanity’s need for the Torah. Angels, for example, have no parents whom they need to learn to honor. The commands of Torah are clearly meant for humans. The angels are convinced by Moses’ arguments and allow him to take Torah back to earth, and each of them also gives him a blessing. (Fass, 288) Thus, Moses’ superiority to angels is displayed. Perhaps this display was at one point meant to combat the Christian insistence on the superiority of Christ. (Najman, 331) Once the Torah was on earth, Israel still had to accept it. God warned of dire consequences for all of creation if they refused. (Fass, 288) Fortunately, they accepted the Torah and the angels rewarded them. “R. Simai lectured: "At that time, when Israel answered to the information of Moses, ‘We will do and we will obey,' six hundred thousand angels had furnished to every one of Israel two crowns: one for the answer 'We will do,' and one for the answer 'We will obey.'” (Bab. Tal. Shabbat 88a) Unfortunately, shortly thereafter they sinned against the commands of the Torah with the Golden Calf and the Talmud records thousands of angels descending to take back those crowns. Nevertheless, the story points out the partiality that God was thought to have for Israel, favoring them above the angels by giving them Torah.

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 2)

Another interesting passage in the study of angelology is Genesis 18: “Then the LORD appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him.” (Gen.18:1-2) It quickly becomes apparent that the men are no ordinary men, and they are called angels later in the passage. However, the passage is confusing; the connection between the LORD and the appearance of the three men is unclear. Christianity generally fastens on to this as an appearance of the trinity: each member of the Godhead took on human form for a day. This is also related to the understanding of the phrase “Angel of the LORD” as a theophany – an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ. Judaism, however, has no need or wish for such an understanding. Whereas Christianity unites the vision of God with the appearance of the three men, Judaism keeps them separate: “He saw the Shechinah and saw the angels.” (Gen. Rab. XLVIII 9, emphasis added) Furthermore, the angels are given the names Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel and are said to have appeared disguised as a Saracen, a Nabatean, and an Arab. No similar description of the Shechinah is offered. As these three “men” are considered angels (and in no way divine), so in Judaism the designation “Angel of the LORD” seems to have no special meaning beyond that of simply an angel. This is demonstrated in the commentary on Genesis16 where the angel of the LORD appears to Hagar. The phrase “angel of the LORD” is used four times in this passage and each instance is taken to be a different angel by some Rabbis. (Gen. Rab. XLV 7). Christianity would connect the phrase “angel of the LORD” and the statement that the LORD spoke to Hagar (Gen. 16:13) and conclude that this juxtaposition argues for the deity of the Angel. Rabbis take it the other direction and argue that the LORD himself did not actually speak to Hagar; it was only his messenger(s). (Gen. Rab. XLV 10)

Another “angel” (though never actually called an angel in the passage) visits the patriarch Jacob at Peniel and wrestles with him. (Gen. 32:22-32) Again, in Christianity, the combination of a mysterious being and divine terms (“the face of God”) point to a divine being, while Judaism again gives less credence to the references to God and accepts the being as a mere angel. “R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: It was the guardian Prince [angel] of Esau. TO this Jacob alluded when he said to him [Esau]: Forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face of Elohim, and thou wast pleased with me (Gen. 33:10).” (Gen. Rab., LXXVII 3) God warns the angel wrestling with Jacob that Jacob has “five amulets” – his own merit, and the merit of his parents and grandparents. God tells the angel that Jacob’s own merit is more than the angel can stand against. (LXXVII 3) Later, as Jacob refuses to let the angel go without a blessing, the angel eventually gives in and reveals a bit of the future to Jacob: another meeting with God at Bethel and a name change. The text says “you have struggled with Elohim” (Genesis 32:28). Though “Elohim” is usually translated as “God” the worldview of the Rabbis seems to forbid this understanding in this passage, so they understand it as referring simply to an angel. When Jacob asks for the name of the being, the angel refuses to tell him, from which the Rabbis imply that the names of angels are changeable from day to day. Most of them, at least, have no permanent name. (Gen. Rab. LXXVII 4) Christians, with the understanding that Jacob wrestled with God who somehow took on human form, postulate instead that God simply refused to reveal his divine name to Jacob at that time.

In only these few passages, the differences between the Christian and Jewish understandings of angels, as based upon differences in their whole worldviews, begin to be readily apparent. Though both understandings claim to be based in scripture, the divide between them widens as Rabbinic commentaries on other passages without scriptural reference to angels are considered.

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 1)

With the craziness of my life here over the last couple months there has been rather a dearth in blog postings. I propose to begin to remedy this lack with a little series on Angels and how they are seen in both Christianity and Judaism.

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.