From Ruin to Resilience - Jewish Revival Post-Temple Destruction
The first century in Israel was a period marked by deep religious, cultural, and social complexity, which has led to distorted and negative perceptions of the people of Israel that are alive and well today.
In the first century, Israel was entangled in deep religious, cultural, and social complexity. The Jewish alliance with the Roman Republic, from the period after the Maccabean revolt, had become a full-on occupation by the Roman Empire.
During this time, Israel was a nexus in the extensive trade network of the Empire, which brought goods, technology, business opportunities, and the potential for conflict.
Relations Between the Romans and the Jewish people were not always positive. From time to time, tensions arose, and clashes could often result in mass casualties.
These challenges are reflected throughout the Apostolic and Rabbinic writings; how to navigate Roman rule was a source of much discussion.
Sectarianism
Apart from the cross-cultural complexities, the Jewish people were entangled in internal division and sectarianism. Some vied for political influence, others engaged in disputes regarding everyday religious observances while the vast majority of Jewish people simply sought to make a living.
Many are familiar with the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots - each with unique perspectives, customs, and eschatological outlook.
As the codification of Jewish law had not yet occurred, numerous discussions of Jewish law gave way to (sometimes intense) arguments.
Though there was general agreement on major topics, these highly technical and nuanced Rabbinic disputes of Jewish law would forever characterize this period.
As some of these disputes were recorded in the New Testament, the Rabbis and Judaism have often been portrayed in a negative light. This will be important to remember for the moment.
Pharisees
The most well-known among these groups, the Pharisees¹ (פרושים) get their name from the word "set apart". The Talmud seems to suggest that the Pharisees themselves were an offshoot of the larger body of religious Jews at the time.
We’ve challenged the tradition² that the Pharisees were a unified group, exploring the thought diversity represented by the two main camps of Shammai and Hillel.
In a two-part series², we’ve also suggested that the root of much of the conflict in the Gospels and the Epistles can be traced to the disputes between these two schools, and the fact that these occurred before the codification of Jewish law.
As many Bible students are aware, discord among the Jewish people has consequences, physical and spiritual. Discord among the people, and its spiritual outcomes, contributed to the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, an ongoing exile, and the death of millions of Jews.
These events would ultimately plant the seeds that have sprouted many of the geo-political issues and biases we see today.
The Destruction of the Temple
The Talmud recounts the story³ of events that led to the Temple’s destruction in 70CE when, Vespasian, not yet Emperor, was sent to address a supposed insurrection in Jerusalem.
The Romans began a three-year siege of Jerusalem, trapping and confining many of these Jewish sects into one place, attempting to starve them into submission.
As to be expected, the Zealots planned to fight to the death, though not everyone in the city felt the same. When the reality settled that peace was improbable, the Sages devised a plan to get their esteemed colleague, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai⁴, out of the city.
Through these events, the Second Temple was destroyed, and many people were killed or exiled.
A New Foundation
Even though, in some aspects, Jewish tradition has remained remarkably consistent since ancient times, it would be a mistake to assume that there have been no changes.
Narrowly escaping death, Rabbi Yochanan and his peers worked to establish a new base from which to rebuild a new foundation for Israel. Now based in Yavne, a city near modern-day Tel Aviv, schools were built, establishing a new center of learning.
The Talmud continues with a fascinating interaction between Rabbi Yochanan and Vespasian, which led to the Emperor granting the Rabbi a few wishes.
The Rabbi requested the restoration of the dynasty of Rabban Gamliel⁵ to the position of leadership.
Rabban Gamliel, known to many Christians as Gamaliel, was a descendant of Rabbi Hillel and was the teacher of the Apostle Paul:
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of [Rabban] Gamliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for G_D as all of you are this day.
- Acts 22:3
This was an important pivot. Where the school of Shammai dominated Jewish law throughout the New Testament times, it would be the school of Hillel that took precedence moving forward. This is still true today!
Unity
In the wake of the Temple's destruction, it became clear that Jewish survival required unity to prevent sectarianism from regaining a foothold.
Moving forward, disagreements would be tempered, and rulings would involve more in-depth consideration, never losing sight of the importance of unity.
In the Mishnah⁶ we're told this new leadership possessed the knowledge of both Shammai and Hillel.
Though, tradition offers solid rationale as to why the school of Hillel has been given preference in our time:
... why was Jewish law established to follow the opinion of Hillel? It is because the students of Hillel were kind and gracious. They taught their own ideas as well as the ideas from the students of Shammai. Furthermore, they even taught Shammai's opinions first. - Talmud Eruvin 13b
This level of respect, not thoroughly present in the previous generation, was now the foundation from which Judaism would step into the future.
Conclusion
Here is why all of this matters.
For much of the last 2,000 years, many have harbored ill will towards the Jewish people, informed solely through decontextualized New Testament interpretations, which have proliferated the anti-semitic biases⁷ of the Church fathers.
This fleeting snapshot in time has been overlaid upon much of the interactions with the Jewish people ever since. As a result, Jews have been on the defense, through exiles, pogroms, and even executed for their refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah.
Anachronistically Painted as "blind," "stupid fools"⁸, it is a small leap for uninformed readers to conflate the particular sub-sect of Pharisees seen in the Gospels with modern Orthodox Jews in general.
These traditions and biases seem to be a factor behind many Christians refusing to support Israel in modern times, a sign that pre-conceived negative impressions live on in the minds of many.
It is my hope that more Christians begin to recognize these key historical shifts, and embrace the Jewish context of the New Testament, beginning a new era of understanding and respect.
With this, the journey towards mutual respect and collaboration, we can enrich both communities and contribute to the arrival of Messiah.
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Notes:
¹ Pharisees. https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/pharisees/
² The Missing Context of the New Testament:
Part 1: https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-missing-context-of-the-new-testament-pt-1/
Part 2: https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-missing-context-of-the-new-testament-pt-2/
³ Gittin 56: https://www.sefaria.org/Gittin.56a?lang=bi
⁴ Rabbi Yochanon ben Zakkai. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohanan_ben_Zakkai
⁵ Rabban Gamliel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamaliel
⁶ "Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai received [the oral tradition] from both Hillel and Shammai." - Pirke Avot 2:8
⁷ Sola Scriptura. https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/lost-in-translation-the-problems-with-sola-scriptura/
⁸ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/martin-luther-quot-the-jews-and-their-lies-quot
