To my family, friends and readers…
For 2022, I wish you
A happy and healthy New Year
Bonne Annee
Feliz año nuevo
Buon anno
Yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun
שנה טובה ומתוקה
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.d
Friday, December 31, 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
ON CURSES
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
A curse is usually
defined as an expression of a wish that misfortune befall another person or
group. Therefore, strictly speaking, using a cuss word is not really a curse.
Here is a biblical
example of a curse: God said to Adam: “By the sweat of your brow, shall you eat
bread to eat” (Gen. 3:19).
Here is a Talmudic
example: “May it be Heaven’s will that a horn sprouts from between your eyes”
(Shab. 108a).
Here is a modern
example from a Yiddish curse: “ I hope you sink like a ship.”
In the past, people
took curses seriously. In fact, one Rabbi taught: “Let not the curse of a
common man seem trivial in your eyes” (B. Meg, 15a). Many actually believed
that curses had a power of action and derived their strength from the gods
(e.g. I Sam. 17:43). That is, people thought that when someone uttered a curse,
it will actually take place. Sheldon Blank, a biblical scholar, called them “automatic
and self-fulfilling” (HUCA 33, 1950-51, 73-95). Therefore, many were afraid of being
cursed.
In order to
insurance compliance, curses in the past were often attached to law codes or
covenants. Here is an example of a curse from the Laws of Hammurabi (17th
cent. BCE): “May Enlil (the god) , the determiner of destinies…incite revolts
against him [the person who disregards the laws] in his abode, which he cannot
suppress, misfortune leading to his ruin” (ANET, p. 179, line 51). Here is another
one found at the end of a treaty between Suppiluliumas, the Hittite king (14th
cent. BCE), and Kurtizawa; “If you,
Kurtiwaza, the prince……do not fulfil the words of this treaty, may the gods,
the lords of the oath, blot you out” (ANET, 206). Similarly, many biblical law
codes ended with blessings and curses to insure compliance. Here is an example
from the curses attached to the end of the laws in Leviticus: “ If you do not
obey Me (God)…I will loose wild beasts against you..(Lev. 26: 18-22).
Today, however, many
of us do not believe that curses include the power of action. Therefore they
are not likely to take effect. They simply express our displeasure towards
another. They do not have any reality attached to them. They are just silly
statements, like, “May you always step in a wet spot after putting on fresh
socks,” or, “some day you’ll go far-and I really hope you stay there.” So,
don’t waste sleep over if someone utters a curse against you. It is not going
to happen, though you may have to find a new friend.
Dec. 15, 2021; Total pageviews: 680,124.
Sunday, December 5, 2021
DO YOU HAVE A TATTOO?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
I do not, and
don’t need one. But many people do. In fact, in my research I found out that
Lucky D. Rich (d.1971), a New Zealand performance artist, is best known for
holding the Guinness World Record as “the most tattooed person.” He had tattoos
in every part of his body!
The origin of
the word “tattoo” is controversial. Some people derive it from the Samoan
“tatau,” meaning “to strike,” others derive it from the Tahitian, “tatu,”
meaning “to mark.” Was tattooing known in the past? Yes. Ancient Egyptians used
to brand their slaves with the names of the owners to whom they belonged. It
was a sign of submission.
It is also
not clear how tattooing became popular in the West. According to the dominant
view, it was the British explorer, James Cook, who brought it back to Europe after
his voyages to the Far East in the late 18th century.
The Hebrew
Bible prohibits tattooing when it states that a person should not “incise any
marks” on oneself (Lev. 19:28). The Hebrew word for tattoo is ketovet kaaka. We know ketovet refers to
writing, but we don’t know exactly what kaaka
means. Nor do we know the root of the verb. Onkelos, the author of the Aramaic
translation of the Hebrew Bible, 3rd cent. CE, renders it as rushmin
haretin, meaning, “engraving a mark.”
It is not
even clear why is there a prohibition against it, even though most scholars
claim that somehow it has to do with idolatrous practices involving the cult of
the dead (Martin Noth, Lev. p 143). The medieval Jewish commentator Ibn Ezra seems to agree with it (see his comments on Lev.
19:28). The Quran does not specifically mention tattooing, but there is a
strong Muslim tradition that considers tattooing “haram” (prohibited) based on
the belief that one should not change the creation of Allah (See Quran, Women,
118-121). Christianity does not have a clear teaching on this subject.
Jewish law is
ambivalent on the subject of tattooing. In general, it prohibits it, especially if it
leaves a lasting mark (Mak. 3:6). However, Rabbi Simeon b. Judah, applied this
law only in cases of idolatry (Mak. 21 a). The medieval Jewish philosopher ,
Maimonides, considered it an idolatrous practice (Mishne Torah, Laws of
Idolatry, 12:11). There is also a popular belief that tattooed Jews are not
allowed to be buried in Jewish cemeteries, but this is not correct (See, Freehof’s
Responsa, viii, 119). Yet, there are
indications that in the past even some Jews accepted tattooing for the right
reasons. According to the Hebrew Bible, it was acceptable if one were to mark
his arm with a sign referring to God, thus becoming subservient to the divine:
“Another shall mark his arm “of the Lord” “(Isa. 44:5, JPS).
Why do people
get tattoos today? You will get various answers: self-expression, artistic
freedom, rebellion, to cover imperfections etc.
One thing is
clear: tattooing is here to stay, and I presume it will continue to be popular
among many people.
So, do you
want to get a tattoo? Get one, and make sure it is medically safe, but you
don’t need to compete with Lucky!
Dec. 5, 2021. Total pageviews world-wide: 677,239
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
DO YOU LIKE YOUR NAME?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
In Jewish tradition, it is customary to name children after
parents. Sephardic Jews name a child
after a living parent, who, while alive, can rejoice in the perpetuation of
one’s name. Ashkenazic Jews, however, name their children after parents who are
deceased, because giving some else your name while alive implies that the donor
is about to lose his/her own life. It was the Romans who originated a
system of naming, consisting of a combination of personal and family names. Today,
many parents are giving their children names freely chosen by the father and
mother, unrelated to family.
However, whether one names a child after a living or a dead
relative, or, a parent chooses names taken from the realm of nature, the ethical
question for me is whether or not it is appropriate to burden someone with a
name chosen by others.
To give you an example: I was born in Turkey and was named
Rifat after my grandfather whose Hebrew name was Refael. The Hebrew word means,
“Heal, [O] God”, and is found in I Chr. 26: 7, as the name of a Levitical
priest. Refael-Rifat: that was close enough. The name Rifat is in Turkish (from
the Arabic verb RAFAA, meaning to elevate; RIFAT in Arabic means,
“excellency.”). I had no issues with it while I lived in Istanbul or Ankara,
but when I moved to Paris and then came to the States in the early 60’s, my
name became a problem, because few people could recognize it and even fewer
could pronounce it.
A quick study shows that many societies around the globe have
different traditions regarding naming. In Costa Rica, for example, it was common to
name children after saints; in some parts of India, it is the horoscope that
determines the name; in Spain, one gets one or two names, followed by two
surnames to honor mother and father or grandparents; in Greece, one waits a few
days and then is given the name of a grandfather or grandmother.
However, all these customs still impose a name upon children
who have to live with it. What happens if, later on, they don’t like their
name? Why should they carry this burden for the rest of their lives?
In the Hebrew Bible, a number of people had a name change: For
instance, Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Joseph became Zafnat
Paneah, Yedidyah became Solomon. In the New Testament, Saul became Paul. In modern times, a number of celebrities have changed their name.
Thus, for example, Reginald Kenneth Dwight became Elton John; Jennifer L.
Anastassakis became Jennifer Aniston; Destiny Hope Cyrus became Miles Syrus and
Eric Marlon Bishop became Jamie Foxx.
Maybe, one should get a temporary name for the first few
years of one’s life, and then, upon reaching adulthood, adopt a personal name
chosen freely by the individual. In my case, I should have changed my name when
I came to the States in 1961, but I never did.
What do you think?
Nov. 9, 2021; 669,980 blog viewers, worldwide.
Friday, October 15, 2021
OLD PEOPLE DON'T LIKE CHANGES
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
There is a statement in the Book of Ecclesiastes, 1:9 that
reads: “There is nothing new under the sun.” We find similar statements in
Akkadian proverbs, such as “The life of the day before yesterday is that of any
day” (ANET, p. 425). R.B.Y. Scott tells us that one finds parallel statements
in Elamite and Greek texts (The Anchor Bible, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,
p.211).
The meaning of the Hebrew proverb is not clear: does it
imply that things always remain the same and that there are no changes in
anything? This goes against our human experiences. Very often, we see that what
was acceptable yesterday is no longer de rigueur now. In fact, we see changes
everywhere. Nothing remains the same. The river keeps flowing. Styles change, habits
change, our language changes as they reflect what is going in our lives
today.
Some commentators in the past tried to explain the proverb according
to their own understanding of the times. The Talmud, for example, states that the
biblical assertion that “there is nothing new under the sun,” simply means that
there are no new creations after the six days of creation” (Sanh. 110a). For the
medievalist commentator, Rashi, “the phrase contrasts futile daily activity
done ‘in place of the Sun (: Light, Torah), i.e, in contrast to the spiritual activity of
Torah study and living”(The Jewish Study Bible, p. 1607).
My wife and I now live in the independent section of a
retirement community outside of Boston. My experience here seems to echo the
biblical assumption that changes are not always well received, especially by people
of old age. Many residents don’t want to
see any changes in the structure of our association. They long for the days
when dinner was formal, with proper attire by the servers. No phones during
dinner time. Any change is threatening to their psyche. Maybe because seniors
have seen too many changes in their lifetime, and now that they have reached the
zenith of their existence, they wish to preserve whatever they had accomplished
intact. Any alteration, for them, means that what they had done in the past is
no longer good or valid. And that hurts. But, I think, this is simply part of
the fear of death or the fear of the unknown. It is better, I believe, to confront
the changing realities around us and face them with courage, instead of ignoring
the novelties that affect our daily lives. Changes will happen, whether we like
it or not. We might as well deal with them.
Saturday, October 9, 2021
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
WHAT IS A BLESSING?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
Almost every
rabbinic prayer begins with Baruh Ata Adonay, Blessed are you, O God. What is a blessing?
In the Hebrew Bible,
the verb “to bless” comes from the root B-R-K(The letter Kaf in Hebrew). A
“blessing” is berahah. A “blessed one” is called Baruh. In Arabic
it is mubarak.
There are various
theories as to the origin of the root BRK. Some people connect it with the word
bereh, meaning “knee.” As in “and he kneeled upon his knees-vayivrah
al birkav” (2 Ch. 6:13). However, I am not convinced that in biblical Hebrew “blessing” and
“kneeling” come from the same root. In reality, given the fact that in
Akkadian, a Semitic language with many ties to biblical Hebrew, the
corresponding term is karabu, a totally different root, I am left to
assume that we really do not know what is the connection between the verb “to
bless” and its homonym “to kneel.”(ABD. I, 753). They may not even be related. Furthermore,
in some cases, “a blessing”, euphemistically, means just the opposite, namely a
curse, as we find in the Book of Psalms, “the grasping man reviles (bereh)
and scorns the Lord’ (10:3).
In the Hebrew Bible,
a blessing is usually offered by someone in authority, such as a father, as in
the case of Isaac and his son Jacob, or
God and Abraham as in “I (God) will make you (Abraham) a great nation and I
will bless you” (Gen. 12:2). However, in some cases, it is even uttered by individuals
for other human beings, such as priests, kings or the people at large: For
example, “When David finished sacrificing …he blessed the people” (II Sam.
6:18). Often God is the addressee: “Bless the Lord, o my soul” (Ps. 104:1). In
Turkey, where I was born, the Sephardic custom of blessing involved kissing the
hand of an elder, that is, a father or a teacher, who then placed his hand on
your head.
Kent H Richards convincingly
argues that “God blesses with benefit on the basis of the relationship” (ABD,
I, 754). The expectation is that a divine blessing comes with a definite
content, such as riches, good health or general wellbeing. Because people
believed that the word itself has a power of action, once a blessing is pronounced,
it cannot be taken away.
For me, a religious
naturalist, a “blessing” is only an expression of good wishes pronounced by
someone in authority, like a parent or even God. In Latin, to bless is benedicere,
coming from bene (well) and dicere,( to say), that is, “to
say good things about another.” On the other hand, when a blessing is uttered
by an inferior to a superior, it simply means, “praise,” whether it comes from
one person to another or from an individual to God. Furthermore, I don’t
believe a blessing comes with an assured content and there is no guarantee that
it will materialize. It simply means, “I love you, and wish you well, “ or, in
the case of praise, “You are great and very important in my life.”
I don’t think we
need to expect more from a blessing, not
that it would happen anyway.
Sept.22, 2021
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
YOM KIPPUR
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins tomorrow night. To those who are fasting, I wish a צום קל , an easy fast.
And remember, it is KAL Nidre ( as we said in Turkey), not KOL. The text is in Aramaic, not Hebrew .(I know, i know, I’ll never win this one in a dominant Ashkenazic community)
May you be sealed in the Book of Life
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
THE HIGH HOLY DAYS; DAY OF JUDGMENT OR SELF-EVALUATION
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.
In Judaism, the term "High Holydays" refers to Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). This year, the first one begins on Sept 6, 2021 and the second on Sept.15.
In monotheistic religions of the West, namely Judaism, Christianity
and Islam, there is a belief that at the end of time, God will judge all
humanity, bringing the righteous to paradise and the wicked to hell. In Hebrew
this is called YOM HADIN, “the day of judgment,” a term that appeared first in
post-biblical times.
According to the New Testament, God “set a day in which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth” (Acts 17: 31). Another text, however states that it would be Jesus who will do the judging: “The Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (Joh, 5:22). The terrifying scene has been magnificently portrayed by Michelangelo in his famous painting, “The Last Judgment,” now in the Sistine chapel in the Vatican..
Similarly, Islam proclaims that at the end of time Allah
will decide how people will spend their afterlife (See, for ex. Kuran 3:55;
5:48 and others).
The ancient Rabbis, too, had a
similar view, except that according to them the judging will be done solely by
God. Inspired by the Roman military life, they imagined that, particularly on
Rosh Hashanah, “all that come into the world will pass before Him like legions
of soldiers.” (RH 1: 2). They also taught that Rosh Hashanah initiates a process
of divine judgment that is completed ten days later on Yom Kippur. In fact, on
Rosh Hashanah, they said, two books are opened before God: Some people are
written in the Book of Life, while others are written in the Book of Death
(see, RH 32b).
This assumption is highlighted in
a traditional liturgical text called, Unetane Tokef (“Let us speak
of awesomeness”), which was composed
between 6 and 8th centuries, and recited during the Jewish High
Holidays. It states that (in translation):
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass away and how many shall
be born,
Who shall live and who shall die,
Who shall reach the end of his days and who
shall not,
Who shall perish by water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who by wild beast,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangulation and who by stoning,
Who shall have rest and who shall wander,
Who shall be at peace and who shall be
pursued,
Who shall be at rest and who shall be
tormented,
Who shall be exalted and who shall be
brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be
impoverished.
But repentance, prayer and righteousness
avert judgment’s severe decree.
For me, this image of a final
judgment is Kafkaesque and a frightening one. First of all, we don’t know when
it will happen; we don’t know how it will happen, and the concept itself is far
from being comfortable and soothing. It is meant to terrify us into behaving
correctly. But I don’t think it works.
In fact, I think, it is a real turn off!
I much rather prefer to reinterpret
the concept and turn the burden on us who can do something about it in a constructive
way. So, for me, a religious naturalist, instead of talking about Yom Ha-din,
the Day of Final judgment, I think we should look at the new Jewish New Year as
a day of starting a process of self-evaluation, which is done in the recesses
of our heart. So, on Rosh Hashanah, we begin the process and conclude it on Yom
Kippur with our new commitment to improve ourselves. At least this is something
that we can do, and must do.
The Talmud even gives us an example of a self-evaluation: After death, when a person is brought to judgment, he is asked: a) Did you conduct your business with integrity; b) Did you set aside fixed times to study; c) did you engage in procreation? and d) Did you hope for better things to come (Shab.31a).
In my case, as I look upon my
behavior last year, I realize that I need to be more patient with people, and
to realize that others function at a different pace than mine. As a Rabbi I am also
inclined to respond to every demand and every request. As I grow older, I need
to learn how to say No at times, for my own well-being and for the sake of the
project I am about to initiate. Just as Simone Biles, the Olympic star, was
able to put her mental wellbeing above the pressures of the moment, I should be
able to respond with clarity of thought in each and every case by considering
what I can do best without killing myself.
So, I plan to start the
self-evaluation on Rosh Hashanah and conclude it on Yom Kippur, determined to
be a better person and a more productive individual. Maybe you should consider
doing the same.
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Friday, July 30, 2021
TV Show
I was interviewed by Rabbi Richard Address of the Jewish Sacred Aging, and I discussed my Sefardic background, how we moved to the Willows in Westborough, MA and my personal theology.
https://vimeo.com/581051990
Please check it out.
Monday, July 12, 2021
WHO ARE SEFARDIC JEWS?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, PhD
Presently, there are two major Jewish groups in the world: Ashkenazic,
who trace their background to Germany and other Eastern European countries, and
Sefardic Jews, who lived in and came out of Spain. Both groups are influenced by the cultural
life of their respective original communities.
The term “Sefarad” appears only once in the Bible: In the
prophet Obadiah (v.20), written most likely well after the destruction of the
first temple of Jerusalem in 586/7 BCE. (Others place it as late as the 5th
cent. BCE). “Sefarad” probably refers to Sardis, a city in Asia Minor. However,
in the Aramaic translation of the Bible, the Targum Jonathan (7th
cent. CE), the name was associated with Spain, and that identification remained
for many centuries. So, by definition, Sefardic Jews are those who trace their
origin to Spain.
How did the Jews get to Spain? In the year 711, the Arab
commander, Tarik ibn Ziyyad, crossed the straights of Gibraltar, and began to
conquer Spain. Many Jews from North Africa followed him. They set up
communities in various parts of Spain, giving rise to a celebrated Jewish
culture. Among the great luminaries that emerged in the country, one can
mention Ibn Gabirol, the poet (d.1069),
ibn Ezra, the renowned biblical commentator (d. 1167) and the philosopher
Maimonides (d. 1204). However, the Christian forces in the north initiated the
Reconquista as early as the 11th cent. and started to push the
Moslems south and away from Spain. Things worsened for the Jewish communities,
too. In 1391 a major riot occurred in Seville and many Jews were killed. The
Inquisition was set up in 1480 and went after the Conversos, new converts to
Christianity. Finally, in 1492, claiming that the Jews were a bad influence on the new Christians, King
Ferdinand of Aragon and his wife Queen Isabela issued a decree of expulsion of
all Jews from Spain. Thousands left, many arriving in the Ottoman Empire. (Jews
have returned to Spain recently, and there are synagogues in many parts of the
country).
There are considerable differences between Ashkenazic Jews
and Sefardic Jews. Here are some examples:
a. Liturgy: there are many differences between Ashkenazic and
Sefardic prayers.
b. Religious practices: Sefardic Jews follow the teachings of the Shulhan
Aruk by Joseph Caro 16th cent), whereas Ashkenazic Jews follow the writings
of Moses Isserless (16th cent.).
c. Language: Ashkenazic Jews spoke/still speak Yiddish (a
Jewish/German dialect); whereas Sefardic Jews spoke/still speak Ladino, based
on Spanish.
d. Most Sefardic Jews name their children after living parents. Ashkenazic
Jews after dead parents.
e. Sefardic Jews use flat stones at the cemetery but Ashkenazic
Jews prefer upright stones.
f. The cuisine of Ashkenazic Jews is considerably different from
Sefardic cuisine.
g. The Synagogue music for Sefardic Jews is very different from the
music used by Ashkenazic Jews.
Se Also, Sefardic Jews pronounce Biblical and rabbinic Hebrew differently from Ashkenazic Hebrew.
There are some Jews around the world that do not really
belong to either group, often referred to as Mizrahi Jews, such as the Jews of Yemen or Iran, because they did not
become part of the peregrinations of either Sefardic or Ashkenazic Jews. In
practical terms, however, these
communities follow the Sefardic rituals and religious practices.
What is the present situation? In Israel, the Jewish
community is divided between these two groups. Outside of Israel, in the US and
Europe, there are more Ashkenazic Jews that Sefardic Jews. On the other hand, the
rate of inter-cultural marriages between these two groups continue to grow. (For
the record: I am a Sefardic Jew from Turkey, whereas my wife is Ashkenazic from
Argentina).
For the foreseeable future, the division between these two
groups will continue, even if the lines of demarcation are not so clear in many
communities.
Thursday, June 17, 2021
WHAT DOES "REVELATION" MEAN TODAY?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
The term “revelation” can be defined as “the divine
disclosure to humans of something regarding the human existence or the world.”
In the ancient Near East, it was commonly believed that gods
verbally communicated with their subjects: Thus, for example, “This is the word
of Ninlil [the goddess] for the king, “Fear not, O Ashurbanipal! Now, as I have
spoken, it will come to pass” (ANET, p.451). Gods also communicated through
dreams: “In my dream, (the goddess) Belet-biri stood by me. She spoke to me as
follows…..” (1)
In biblical times, too, where God appears to the Israelites as
a Father, King, or Creator, “revelations” appear to have taken place in a variety of ways.
They included,
a. Direct Speech, such as: “The Lord said to Abram: Go forth
from your native land…”(Gen.12: 1, all biblical quotes from JPS), or, “The word
of the Lord came to me” (Jer.1:4), even, at times, to animals, “The Lord opened
the ass’s mouth and she said to Balaam” (Num.22:28).
b. Through an angel: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him
(Moses) in a blazing fire out of a bush” (Ex.3: 2), or “The angel of the Lord
said to her: ‘Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment”
(Gen. 16:9).
c. Dreams and visions: “When a prophet of the Lord arises
among you, I make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream”
(Num.12:6); or “The hand of the Lord came upon me. He took me out by the spirit
of the Lord and set me down in the valley” (Dan 37: 1).
d. Writing on the wall: “He therefore made the hand appear,
and caused the writing to be inscribed.” (Dan. 5:24).
e. Urim and Thummim: “Inside the breast piece of decision
you shall place the Urim and Thummim so that they are over Aaron’s heart when
he comes before the Lord” (Ex. 28: 30). [We do not know what these objects
were. Many suggest that they were a type of sacred lots used for divination]
Biblical books, containing statements attributed to God, were
written by unknown human authors: The Book of Psalms, attributed to King David,
is a collection of poems/prayers to God. The books of Joshua, Judges , Samuel, Kings
and Chronicles are quasi-historical books but not God’s work. Proverbs and
Ecclesiastes deal with human wisdom. Song of Songs is a book about human love. Each
prophet assumedly wrote his own book. The Book of Esther does not even include
the name of God.
What about the Pentateuch? Even though, just before the
reading of the Torah, the Jewish liturgy
proclaims: “This is the Torah which Moses set before the Children of Israel,
according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses” (Hertz), we really
don’t know who finally put it all together. Nowhere in the Five Books of Moses
is it stated that Moses was the author of the entire Pentateuch. In the
expression “Moses wrote down this Torah” (Deut.31:9), the word “Torah” simply means
“teaching,” namely, general instruction
and not the entire Pentateuch(2). Even the Rabbis had to admit that Moses could
not have been the author of the statement in Deuteronomy, “So Moses, God’s
servant, died there” (34:5). Their answer: Joshua wrote it.
During rabbinic times, the Rabbis were aware of the issue of
authorship of various texts in the Hebrew Bible; hence they presented a list of
authors for each biblical text : e.g., Moses wrote the Pentateuch and the book
of Job (BB 14b). In the medieval period,
divine revelation was generally accepted by many. Yet Maimonides (12th
cent) stated that “when we call the Torah ‘God’s word’ we speak metaphorically.”
But, then, making an exception with regard to Moses, he surprisingly added “We
do not know exactly how it [the Pentateuch] reached us, but only that it came
to us through Moses who acted like a secretary taking dictation” (Helek: San.
Ch.10, No.8).
Today, can we take the concept of revelation literally? If,
so how can we explain the so many internal discrepancies within the biblical
material? For instance, of the two sets of the Decalogue, Ex.20 and Deut. 5,
which is God’s real words? Did God change “his” mind?
In trying to ascertain how the Bible took shape, many Biblical
scholars tell us that the Hebrew Bible is made up of four different literary
strands, JEDP, which were composed by various human authors over a long period
of time. We don’t know exactly when the Hebrew Canon was completed. Some have
argued that the Council of Jamnia finalized the Hebrew Bible in the first cent.
CE., but this theory has been challenged by many critics. Scholars now suggest
dates that vary from the 1st cent. BCE to the 2nd cent.
CE.
From the perspective of Jewish religious naturalism, my
position, we can say that all biblical texts and rabbinic instructions were
written by extraordinary human beings who were inspired by the circumstances
that surrounded them. They were eventually collected as sacred texts for the
larger community to read and study. Instead of “revelation,” most religious
naturalists use the idea of “discovery.”
So, if we want to find out God’s will, they would say, all we need to do
is investigate and study the evidence that is provided to us by nature. Even though,
that is not perfect and always subject to change based on the discovery of new data,
it is, at least, verifiable.
1. Prophets and Prophecy in the ANE, SBL, M. Nissinen, SBL,
2003, p.69.
2. Jeffrey H. Tigay, Deuteronomy, JPS, 1996, 291
Thursday, June 3, 2021
WHERE ARE THE PROPHETS TODAY?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
You think prophets are gone? Not so in some Christian
groups. I recently learned that Ellen G. White (d.1915), the co-founder of the
Seven Day Adventists, was regarded as a “prophetess.” Bishop D.T. Tonne of the
Elijah Prophet of Fire Ministries International is identified online as a
“prophet.” Similarly, Russell M. Nelson Sr. is the 17th and current
president as well as the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
Who is a prophet? A prophet by definition is a mouthpiece of
God, a human medium capable of receiving and transmitting a verbal message from
the divine. Prophecy is an ancient phenomenon in the Near East, where we find a
number of references to people who claimed that they received the word of God
and shared this message with other people. They went by different names,
including: muhhu in Babylonia, apilu in Mari (of Syria) and navi
in ancient Israel. Some of them were simple diviners, others acted as
social critics. Some were attached to sanctuaries, others roamed alone. They
were men and women. Their language is at times banal but often impressive. They
spoke up at temples but also in the market places.
Examples are plentiful: an unknown prophet of Akkad looked
forward to the day when “the country will live safely….the people will have
abundance” (ANET, 606). The Jewish prophet Amos (8th cent. BCE),
preached in the northern kingdom of Israel: “Seek good and not evil that you
may live…Hate evil and love good and establish justice in the gate” (5:14-15,
JPS). Micah (8th cent. BCE) expressed his hope in Jerusalem that
people “will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning
hooks. Nation shall not take up sword against nation; they shall never again
know war” (4: 3, JPS). First Isaiah (8th cent. BCE) looked forward
to the day when God “will hold up a signal to the nations and assemble the
banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of
the earth” (11: 12, JPS).
Ancient prophets usually shared their messages verbally and,
later on, scribes turned them into written texts, often ex post facto.
In the New Testament, both John the Baptist (Mat 11:9-11) and
Jesus (Acts 3:22) are called prophets. In
the Quran, Mohammad is viewed as one. Even though Mohammad accepted Jesus and
the biblical prophets as legitimate, Christians do not view Muhammad as a
prophet and Jews do not consider Mohammad or Jesus as prophets.
How does one know if a prophet is legitimate or not? In
Jewish history, not everyone was accepted as a legitimate prophet. Many were in
fact declared false. The book of Deuteronomy, for example, tells us that “if a
prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come true, that
oracle was not spoken by the Lord” (Deut.18:22). That prophet is false. During
the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (870-846 BCE), “a lying spirit (fell) in
the mouth of the prophets” (I K 22: 23). The prophet Ezekiel attacked “the
foolish prophets who follow their own spirit.” (13:3-4). In the NT, Jesus warns
of false prophets “who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7: 15).
During the medieval times, the concept of prophecy came
under heavy criticism among major Jewish philosophers, because divine revelation
was becoming more and more problematic and philosophically untenable. Thus, for
instance, even though Saadia Gaon (d. 942) of Egypt defended the old concept of
prophecy as verbal revelation from God, others, like Abraham Ibn Ezra (d.1167)
of Tudela, Spain and Moses Maimonides (d.1204)
of Cordoba, Spain argued that when the prophets spoke up, they used their own reason
and imaginative powers.
We do not know when prophecy ended in ancient Israel. According
to the Talmud, “After the last prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi died
(about 5th cent. BCE), the Divine Spirit of prophetic revelation
departed from the Jewish people, and they were still utilizing a Divine Voice,
which they heard as an echo of prophecy” (Yoma 9b). On the other hand, Seder
Olam Rabba ,30, a rabbinic text that deals with chronology, places it at
the time of Alexander the Great (d.323 BCE). The Jewish historian Josephus (1st
cent CE) still speaks of “false prophets” during the Roman period (Wars 6/5/2).
It must have been a slow process.
Today, for all practical purposes, we live in a post-prophetic
era. Except for very few examples in the Christian world today (see above), no human
being is given the title of “prophet” anymore. Today, it is almost impossible
to ascertain who has received “the word of God,” and how. Now, at best, we talk
about wise people or charismatic individuals who can speak with a commanding
voice on major social, political and
religious issues, not because they received verbal messages from the divinity but
because of the forceful arguments they can muster when they speak up. We pay
attention to them and often follow their teachings. They are our modern
teachers and guides.
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
LIFE EXPECTANCY-THEN AND NOW.
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
I (82) live at the Willows, a residential complex for older
active adults, in Westborough, MA, outside of Boston. Most of the people here
are in their mid-eighties and nineties. We have a few who are even 95+! And
still active. So, I am among the younger ones! I was wondering who was
considered “old” in ancient times? I did some research and this is what I
found.
In the Hebrew Bible, we find three basic terms for an old
person: zaken (from zakan, meaning “beard”), seva, and yashish
(only in the Book of Job. Some scholars suggest that this term may have
been a contraction of yesh shishim, namely “there is sixty”). We also
have the Aramaic term kashish in many rabbinic texts. An old person is
described in the Bible as someone who has reached “full of days,” or was “sated
with days” or is “advanced in years.”
In the past, old age is often identified with wisdom,
deserving respect: Says Job: “Wisdom is with the aged.” According to Prov.
16:31, “gray hair is a crown of glory.” Lev.19:32 urges people “to stand up
before the gray head.” We are told that king Rehoboam “took counsel from the
old men.” (I K 12:6).
I presume that, in ancient times, because
of limited medical knowledge, life expectancy was much lower. In the Hebrew
Bible, we need to discount the extravagant and mythical numbers attributed to
some early heroes: There is no way Methuselah
actually lived 969 years (Gen. 5:27), or that Adam lived to be 930 (Gen.5:5) or that Seth made it to 912 years
(Gen.5:8). I don’t even believe that Abraham lived 175 years (Gen.25:7) or that
Moses died at the age of 120 (Deut. 31:2). These are all exaggerations. Ancient
Egyptians considered 110 as the ideal age limit (ANET, p.414). In Judaism, it
is 120 (Gen.6:3), like Moses.
We are dealing with more realistic numbers when we read in
the Bible that Barzillai, the Gileadite, was considered “old” at the age of 80
(2 Sam. 19:34-36). King David died at
the age of 70, “in good old age” (be seva tovah) (2 Sam.5:4; I Chr.
29:28). King Jehoshaphat died at the age of 60 (I K 22: 41-42), King Hezekiah
at 54 (2 k 18:2), King Jehoash at 47 (2 K 12: 1-2) and King Ahaz at 36 (2 K
16:1).
According to the Book of Psalms, the span of life for a
human being is 70 years (90:10). The Book of Numbers tells us that Aaron, the
priest, had to retire at the age of 50 because he was not fit for heavy work at
the Temple (8:25). In the early rabbinic literature, in the Tractate Avot, we
find a list for the human life span: At the age of 60, it says, one reaches the
stage of ziknah (old age), and at the age of 70, one reaches the level
of seva (old age) (5:25). According to the Talmud, “one who dies at the
age of 70, has died as an old person” (MK 28:10). So, pretty much, 70 marked the end for many
people. Not so, today! Many people are now living much longer.
What was the average life span in biblical times? According
to the Anchor Bible Dictionary, it was 44! (5:11). I checked online and learned
that in modern times life expectancy in the USA is now about 77 ; and 72 in the
world.
Medical advances have obviously extended the years we spend
on this earth. The question is whether we are making the best of what is
allotted to us? Shouldn’t we then give gratitude for the blessings that are
ours at the present time?
Friday, May 7, 2021
Saturday, May 1, 2021
PARADISE AND HELL? DO THEY EXIST?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
Many people believe that after we die, somehow the righteous
go to paradise and the wicked go to hell. In fact, in Turkish the appropriate
response to a death notice is : mekani cennet olsun. Namely, “May
his/her repose be in paradise.” Where does this belief come from? Is there
really a physical place called “paradise” or “hell’? And, where is it?
In the Hebrew Bible, the dominant belief was that after
death, you went down to a place called Sheol, and stayed there for eternity. The
concept of resurrection after death appears late in the Bible. It is referred
to for the first time in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel (37:11-12), in the
6th century BCE, after the destruction of the First Temple of
Jerusalem by the Babylonians. But the Rabbis, who emerged in the 1st
cent. CE, after the Second Temple of Jerusalem was burned down by the Romans in
70 CE, and especially the Pharisaic teachers (but not the Sadducees), turned
this into a cardinal belief not only for the people of Israel but also for
every individual (See, for ex. Mishnah, San. 10:1). Early Christians, following
rabbinic teachings, accepted this as part of their religious doctrine. Not only
do they believe that Jesus was brought back to life on the third day after the
Crucifixion (see for ex. Mark 16: 9), but according to the New Testament, he also raised a few others from death, like
the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8: 44) or Lazarus (John 11). Islam too, following, the Hebrew Bible, affirms
this assumption, and teaches that Allah will resurrect everyone from their
graves on the Day of Judgment (Quran, 22:5-7).
In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Genesis states that Adam
and Eve lived in Gan Eden (the “Garden of Eden”- Gen. 2-3). Later on, the
Rabbis taught that this garden was set aside for the righteous in the
world-to-come. Using their unbridled imagination, some Rabbis described “paradise”
(an original Persian word that the Greeks modified into paradeisos,
meaning, an “enclosed park,”) in colorful language as “a place of waterbrooks encompassed
by 800 species of roses and myrtles” (Yalkut, Bereshit, #2; The Book of
Legends, p, 570). It is also where “each
righteous person is given a canopy in accordance with the honor due him” (same).
Other Rabbis pointed out that “in the world to come there is neither eating nor
drinking; no procreation of children or business transaction, no envy or hatred
or rivalry but the righteous sit enthroned, their crowns on their heads, and
enjoy the luster of the Shehinah (that is, divine grace)” (Ber. 17a). Similarly,
hell (gehinnom, “the Valley of Hinnom,” where originally the rite of
child sacrifice was practiced in the 6 and 7th cent. BCE) was
described by some Rabbis as “rivers of pitch and Sulphur flowing in boiling
suds” and where “men were suspended by their noses, hands, tongues and feet” (Masekhet
Gehinnom, BhMi: 147-49; The Book of Legends, p. 570).
I suggest there is another way to look at life after death,
if there is one. First, we need to ask, when is this resurrection (or
reincarnation in Jewish mysticism-two different concepts) taking place?
According to most Rabbis, this will happen at the end of time after the arrival
of the Messiah. Second, in the meantime what happens when death arrives? Science
tells us that the body begins a process of decomposition. Third, is there a
place called “paradise” or “hell”? No one knows. It is a pure assumption
created by human imagination, expressing our hopes for the righteous and wicked
in the world beyond. Furthermore, some thinkers in the past, like Moses
Mendelsohn (18th cent.), taught that the belief in hell is
incompatible with Judaism’s view of a merciful God. Early Reform Jews rejected the
belief in the existence of both hell and paradise as early as 1869 at the Philadelphia
Conference of the American Reform Rabbis.
Like many of my contemporaries, I too am comfortable with
the belief that after I die, the only thing that will remain behind are the
memories that I have created and the writings I have done during my lifetime. I also presume that we will live through our children. For
me, that is ecologically sound, rationally thought out and theologically
comfortable.
SONSINO’S BLOG, rsonsino.blogspot.com
For more information, see:
Rifat Sonsino and Daniel Syme, What Happens After I Die? Behrman House.
Monday, April 12, 2021
THE PRIESTS IN JUDAISM
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
Many religions today have priests. For example, the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Anglicans, some Lutherans and Hindus are served by ordained priests. Islam has no sacerdotal priests. In Judaism, we had priests but not anymore.
The biblical history of the priesthood is complicated. As Lawrence Boadt, a Biblical scholar, puts it, “the actual history of the priesthood (in the Hebrew Bible) is murky and leaves many problems yet to be solved” (1). So, the best that we can do is to draw a few general lines as we reconstruct the history of the priesthood in ancient Israel.
Roland de Vaux, a French Bible scholar, who studied the social structures of the ancient Hebrews (2), points out that in the early periods of the Jewish history, there was not an organized priestly class. In fact, during the days of the Judges, 12th-10th centuries BCE, different individuals functioned as priests. For example, the prophet Samuel was one of them (I Sam. 2:18). Similarly, Micah the Ephraimite, appointed his own son as priest (Judg.17: 5). Even king David’s children were working as priests (II Sam. 8;18). During the monarchy, especially during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BCE) and on, in the Book of Deuteronomy that was redacted around that time, a new group of people emerged as priests in the only temple that existed in the country, namely in Jerusalem. They were the Levitical priests (ha-kohanim ha-leviyim), the presumed descendants of the tribe of Levi (Deut. 10:8) who offered the appropriate sacrifices on the altar and took care of the needs of the sanctuary. After the destruction of the First temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and especially after the return of the exiles back to Israel, during the second temple, a new group appears to have gotten the upper hand as the main priests of the Jerusalem temple, and they were the Aaronides, the presumed descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The prophet Ezekiel, ca. 593-571, makes this distinction clear (44:10ff). From then on, the Aaronides became the main priests and the Levites were denigrated to becoming their helpers , as it is made clear in the Book of Numbers (3: 5-10), the redaction of which most likely followed the time of Ezekiel. The title of Kohen was hereditary and went from father to son. A Kohen was not allowed to marry a divorcee, a prostitute or a widow. They were not permitted to have any contact with dead bodies. They were also not allowed to drink wine or strong drinks. The Aaronides held their function until the destruction of the second temple of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. After that the priesthood ceased to exist.
During the Rabbinic period that followed, and even now in the present times, at Orthodox or Conservative synagogues, the priests, namely the descendants of the Aaronides and the Levites assumed a ceremonial role in the synagogues and in the Jewish religious life. For example, someone who claims to be a Kohen (now going by the name of Kohen, Kahn or even Katz, for Kohen Tzedek, a righteous Kohen), gets the honor of ascending the pulpit for the reading of the first portion of the Torah, and a Levi takes the second. Similarly, a Kohen is invited to come up to the pulpit to bless the congregation, covering his head with a prayer shawl. In cases where a redemption of the first born (namely, a pidyon haben) is done, it is usually a Kohen who does the redeeming for a sum of money. Also, a Kohen is not allowed to attend a funeral at a cemetery. Outside of these, for all practical purposes, the priesthood has ceased to exist in Jewish life today.
Reform Judaism, ever since the Pittsburgh platform of
1885, has eliminated all teachings regarding the “priestly purity” and
consequently has abolished all distinctions among Jews. The role of the Kohen
or Levi is now non existent in Reform Jewish practice. Today, we believe, that every
Jew has the same obligations and responsibilities vis-a vis the Jewish
community at large.
Notes:
Lawrence Boadt, Reading the Old Testament. Paulist
Press, 1984, 278.
R. de VauX, Les Institutions de l’Ancient Testament. Les
Editions du Cerf, 1967, 217ff.
Thursday, April 1, 2021
OUR SEDER WITH SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
During Passover, it is traditional for Jews to hold a Seder
(meaning ‘the order’), a ceremonial meal, on the first and traditionally on the
second night of the holyday, to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt in biblical
times. A special text, created by the Rabbis of old called Haggadah (“the
telling [of the story]) is used before and after the meal.
The Seder is a family affair and is often held at home, even
though some synagogues offer “congregational Seders.” The rabbinic text used
during the Seder is called, Haggadah (namely, “The telling”), and recalls the
past when “we were slaves in the Land of Egypt.” Then, according to the Bible,
led by Moses, Jews escaped Egypt and arrived into the Sinai desert. This year, because of Covid, the pattern
changed drastically. Few people dared to leave their home to gather with other
family members in order to celebrate freedom. So, many Jews resorted to zoom
Seders, connecting with family and friends online.
This year, my wife and I had a dilemma. How will we hold the
Seder? The Willows, where we live in Westborough, did not offer one. Most of
the residents here are not-Jewish and, besides, they still do not encourage
large gathering of people. We, therefore, decided to have one on the second
night with our daughter, Debbi and our grandchildren, Avi and Talya, in their
home in Milford, MA, about 15 minutes away from our apartment. (Our son lives in California). But, what to do
the first night? I thought, why not connect with our friends in Spain? In the
past, on many occasions, Ines and I travelled to Barcelona during the summer,
and I helped BetShalom, a small but vibrant Reform congregation, with some rabbinic
work. This year, because of the virus, they were planning to hold a
congregational Seder by zoom.
So, on the first night of Passover, March 27, 2021, we
connected with Barcelona at 2 pm Boston time, and were happy to see that even
our friends from Madrid, Spain as well as others from Portugal, had joined the
Seder online at 7 pm, local time. In fact, the cantor who led the singing,
David Alhadef, was from Portugal. We read the Haggadah, placed on computer
screen, in Spanish and Portuguese, and sang all the traditional songs in
Hebrew. Various people took turn in reading different passages and responsive
readings. Even I chanted the “Ha Lanhma Anya” (“this bread of affliction”), almost
at the start of the Seder, using a melody that I remembered from my childhood back
in Turkey. At the end of the Seder, the group in Madrid held a congregational
meal and the rest of us retreated to our own family dinners.
The entire experience, I felt, was surreal. I said to
myself: Here we are a group of Jews, who are spread all over the world,
connecting with each other for the celebration of a holiday that, at best, has dubious
historical basis, but one that has been recalled through oral tradition from
generation to generation for centuries. We are still reading and chanting the
texts that have been part of our tradition for a very long time. So, year after
year, when Jews get together in their homes or congregations, to tell the story
of their ancestors’ liberation from bondage in Egypt, sometime around the 13th
century BCE, we can relive their experiences and prepare ourselves to face
unknown challenges , like the Israelites apparently did when, according to
legend, after leaving Egypt, they somehow crossed the desert to receive the
Decalogue at the foot of Mt. Sinai as their constitutional chart. Then, they
went on their way to establish themselves as a nation in the land of Israel for
many years to come.
This year, through the miracle of technology, zoom made it
possible for all Jews to enlarge the circle of families by connecting them
online wherever they are, making our world even smaller but intimate. Now that
Covid is about to end, we shall remember this interlude and build on it as we confront
new challenges as individuals, families and nations.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
HOW MANY LEFT EGYPT?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
The festival of Passover recalls a major event in the
history of the Jews during the biblical times. The main message of the holiday,
which has resonated with our people over the centuries, is that we were slaves
in Egypt, and then we became free. Jews have celebrated this special event for
a long period of time, through a ritualized family meal, called the Seder, and using
a traditional text named “Haggadah,” meaning “the telling (of the story).”
As the historian John Bright already pointed out, “there is
no direct witness in Egyptian records to Israel’s presence in Egypt…(however),
it is not the sort of tradition any people would invent” (History of Israel,
1981, 121). The details of the slavery in Egypt as well as the liberation from
it are buried in many legends that have been transmitted through the ages from
generation to generation. One of them is the number of people who actually left
Egypt.
According to Ex.12: 37, about 600,000 men, plus women and
children as well as a “mixed multitude” departed from Egypt. In the opinion of
a medieval rabbinic commentator, Abraham Ibn Ezra (d.1167, Spain), this extra
group were some Egyptians who joined them. It could also refer to other
enslaved people in Egypt who escaped along the Israelites.
600,000 is a round number (the Hebrew text reads, “about
600,000”) and is not too far from other biblical sources that put it at 600,550
(Num.1:46), 600,000 (Num.11:21) or at
601,730 (Num.26:51). Many people, therefore, estimated that the total number of
Israelites who left Egypt, including women, children and others, would be about
two and a half million.
And this is where the problem lies:
1. According to a biblical text, the Israelites arrived in Egypt
with 70 people (Deut. 10:22), and lived in the land 430 years (Ex 12:40). (By the way, Gen. 15:13 and 15:16 claim 400
years in 4 generations). The defenders of the biblical text point to another biblical
verse that states that the Israelites were very prolific and multiplied greatly
(Ex.1: 7; see Deut. 1: 10). But even with this exaggerated claim, it is hard to
believe that 70 people can generate about two or three million within 400+
years.
2. According to another biblical text, the Israelites in Egypt had only
two mid-wives by the name of Shifra and Puah (Ex.1: 15-21). It is not clear if
these were Hebrew mid-wives or Egyptian mid-wives to the Hebrews. The names,
however, are Semitic and not Egyptian. Some medieval commentators, like Ibn
Ezra, maintain that they were the overseers of the actual mid-wives in the
country. The defenders of the biblical text say that the Hebrew wives in Egypt were
“vigorous,” and did not wait for the mid-wives to arrive (Ex.1: 19). But,
still, it is hard to believe that only two women , even with outside help, could
possibly serve all the Israelites living in the country.
3. Given the climatic conditions of the land, there is no way that
the Sinai desert could have sustained such a large group of more than two
million.
To solve the problem, many scholars proposed various
solutions:
1. Some argued that the Hebrew word “ELEF,” meaning “thousand”
referring to the number of men who left Egypt (in Ex.12:37) should be
understood as “clans.” That would bring the number down to a few thousands. Thus,
for example, Mendenhall suggested, maybe 5000; Sarna argued in favor of 600
family units and Wenham proposed a total of 72,000 people.. Now, that makes
more sense.
2. Other scholars suggested that not all 12 Israelite tribes left
Egypt, and perhaps not all of them together. Already M. Noth had indicated that
“the tribes of Israel did not all settle on the soil of Palestine at the same
time” (History, 1958, p. 72). Some even suggested that perhaps only 2 or 3
left, and the others escaped before or after the Exodus. In reality, the number
12 is post-Exodus and reflects the reality during the days of the Monarchy,
later on.
These details,
however, did not make it into the Hebrew Bible or the Haggadah. Oral tradition
embellished the history of the liberation, and human imagination added all
sorts of stories to the almost miraculous event in order to highlight the major
teaching of the holiday that celebrates the freedom from bondage in the distant
past. In fact, according to the Haggadah, “in every generation each person must
feel obligated to think that he/she had personally came out of Egypt.” No
wonder why so many people still today rejoice in it and proclaim it to the entire
world.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
A JEWISH VIEW OF ISLAM
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
The present conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in
the Holy Land has created the false impression that the tension between Jews
and Muslims has been going on for centuries. That is not correct. Peaceful
coexistence has occurred in many places. In fact, Islam (meaning “submission”
to God’s will) recognizes that it owes a great deal to Judaism (and
Christianity) in its formulation of its own faith.
I grew up in Turkey and had a good exposure to Islam. I have
visited and, in fact, attended many
services at Mosques in many parts of the country and, later on, studied Arabic
at the University of Pennsylvania.
Islam began when Mohammad, born in Mecca around 570 CE, claimed
to have received his first revelation from God in 610. After he and his
followers escaped Mecca (in 622) for a northern city called Yathrib, later
known as Medina, Mohammad interacted with a number of Jewish tribes. At the
beginning, relationships were good but as Jews began to refuse Mohammad’s claims
to prophecy, things began to sour between them, and Mohammad started to come up
with statements critical of Jews as well as Christians. Thus, for example, even
though he had identified these two groups as the “people of the book” (namely
the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; see, Sura 3: 84), he later on told his
followers, “Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are
allies of one another” (Sura, 5:51). After Mohammad’s conquest of Mecca in 630,
he began to come out with newer religious teachings. These eventually became
the substance of the Koran, the sacred text in Arabic of the newly formed faith.
He died in Mecca in 632 at the age of 62, and was followed by Abu-Bakr
(632-634), Uthman (644-656), and Ali (656-661). Some Muslims, namely the
Shiites, believed that Ali should have followed Muhammad as caliph
(“successor”), and therefore split from the Sunni Muslims. Today, for example, while
most people in Iran are Shiite, the
majority of Turks are Sunnis. It is
estimated that 90% of the Muslims are Sunnis and 10% are Shiite. There are a
few differences between these two Muslim groups with regards to some religious
practices but not concerning the main instructions of the Koran.
Islam promotes five major teachings: 1. It is monotheistic,
and declares the unity of God and promotes Mohammad as God’s messenger; 2. It
requires 5 different prayer services during the day, facing Mecca; 3. It
demands that 2.5% of one’s savings be given to the poor and the needy; 4. It
asks that followers fast and exercise self-control during the daylight hours of
the holy month of Ramadan, the 9th month of the Muslim calendar;
and, finally, 5. It encourages Muslims to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a
lifetime, if one is able.
During the medieval times, in spite of the fact that both
Jews and Christians were considered dhimmis, namely, second class
citizens in the Muslim world, Jews, especially, were able to create kind of a
“golden age” for a period of time in Andalucía, Spain, where they spoke and
wrote in Arabic, and gave rise to great philosophers and poets, like Ibn Ezra,
Judah Halevi and Maimonides. However, because of deteriorating circumstances
and the Reconquista of Spain by the Christians, Jews were expelled from Spain
in 1492, who then spread through North Africa and all over Europe, including
the Ottoman Empire.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam share a number of teachings:
1. They are all monotheists, but Muslims do not accept Jesus as
divine.
2. Islam recognizes the biblical prophets, both Jewish and
Christians, but these two groups do not accept Mohammad as a prophet.
3. All three religions consider Jerusalem a holy city.
4. Both Jews and Muslims require circumcision of males, even though
Jews do it on the 8th day after birth and Muslims shortly before
puberty. Christians do not require this procedure.
5. During worship services, most Jews and all Muslims cover their
heads, whereas among Christians nuns do that. Also, in the Catholic Church, the Syrian Orthodox church and in Anglicanism, clerics wear a zucchetto, like a skullcap.
6. Both Jews and Muslims stay away from eating pork, and follow certain
required rules of diet. Christians have no restrictions regarding food, except
during Lent (no meat).
7. Jews or Muslims do not allow sculptures or human images in their
respective houses of worship, even though Christians do.
In our time, especially in the USA, there is a strong
movement towards establishing respectful
relationship among the clergy of the main three faiths, especially in religious
associations of all the professionals. And, that is the way it ought to be.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
THE NAMES OF GOD IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
In the Hebrew Bible, we find different names for God. (Later
on, Rabbis came up with new terms):
a. EL
This term contains a Hebrew plural ending, im, and often refers to the gods of other nations (e.g., Ex.12:12). However, it also appears as the name of the Israelite God. Often, it is accompanied by a singular verb, like : “When God (Elohim) was about to create…(Gen. 1:1), but at times it is followed by a plural ending, such as “When God (Elohim) made me wander…( Gen.20: 13), perhaps as a vestige of the old, polytheistic, usage.
c. ELOHA
T This is a singular evocative form of Elohim, and simply means God, like in Deut. 32: 15 (“He forsook the God –Eloha-who made him”) or 32:17 (“They sacrificed to demons, no gods, lo eloha”).
d. SHADDAY
The
original meaning of this term is not clear. In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Bible) and the Vulgate
(Latin translation of the Bible), it is rendered
as “Almighty.” Most likely, the word is
related to the Akkadian shadu,
meaning “mountain.” Others, derive it from shadayyin, divinities mentioned
in old Aramaic texts. Often, this term appears alone, referring to the Israelite God (Num. 24:4 or Ps.
91:1), but at times we find it in combination with the name EL, such as El
Shadday (Gen. 17:1) or attached to human names, like Zurishaddai (Nu. 1:6).
e. YHVH
Often
transliterated as Yahweh, this tetragrammaton appears more than 600 times in the Hebrew Bible as the personal name
of God. It also has a shortened
form as YAH (Ex. 15:3) or YAHU, in personal names, like Uziyahu (Is.6:1). Often, it appears as YY. Its root is likely
related to the Hebrew verb HAYAH, meaning
to be, to exist. The term is also found in sources
outside of Israel, such as in 9/8 th cent. BCE Phoenician storage jars, in northern Sinai, in the form of
“YHVH and his Asherah,” or in association
with other groups, like “YHVH of
Samaria.” In the synagogue, the
term is pronounced as ADONAY, by applying the vowels of the Hebrew word, “My Master.” In reality, we
do not know how this name was pronounced
in Biblical times. The term “Jehovah” appears for the first time in 1530 in the English Bible by
William Tyndale.
In the Ten Commandments, the law
states that we should not swear falsely or take God’s name in vain (Ex.20:70. Based
on this teaching, some people believe that it is sinful to write God’s name in
full and that we should write G-D or L--D instead. There is no justification
for that because G-D or L--D does not refer to God’s real name in the Bible. In
fact, I would argue, God does not even need a personal name. If God represents
the totality of Being, the simple term “God” in English (Deus in Latin, Dieu
in French, Dio in Italian, Dios in Spanish, Gott in
German, Theos in Greek, Allah in Arabic and Turkish, etc.) should
do just fine.
For more details, see the recent
Responsum by David Golinkin on “Must God’s Name be Written in English as G-D,
02/22021.
(Comments are welcome)
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