Rabbinic Judaism

The central conception that distinguishes Rabbinic Judaism from all other forms of Judaism is the belief that Moses received a dual revelation, a written Torah and an oral Torah. Those who first revived this ancient idea did so in opposition to the heirs of the Aaronic priestly tradition who were committed solely to the perpetuation of written law and the traditional cult. Yet by the end of its formative period (c. 600 CE) Rabbinic Judaism consisted of a synthesis of the messianic and priestly traditions. The development of the major strains that were later reconciled took place over the first two centuries of the common era. On the one hand, there was the small group who developed the Mishnah, "the systematic expression of the priestly viewpoint," (Neusner, Rabbinic 72). On the other, were the successors of the Pharisees who perpetuated the tradition of the dual Torah and the rabbinical system of leadership, teaching, and the interpretation of Torah. The rabbis' reconciliation of the major strains in Judaism took place only after centuries in which major upheavals in Jewish life were instrumental in the formulation of the positions of both groups.

The revival of the oral tradition was brought about by the Pharisees who emerged to prominence at the time of the Hasmonean Revolt (166-142 BCE). During the first century the Pharisees were involved in a struggle for dominance with the Sadducees, who reasserted the belief that "God had revealed a single, immutable written

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such an appeal. First, the tradition of the dual Torah emphasized "history's meaning and end" in the arrival of a messiah, an important tenet for the Jews of the Diaspora who were powerless in almost every sense in the communities in which they dwelled (Neusner Rabbinic 72). Second, Pharisaic rabbinism linked "personal salvation" to the "internalization" of the dual Torah and promised eternal life and resurrection to those who did so (Rivkin 66). The emphasis on the individual's study of Torah, attributed by some to the influence of the scribes rather than the Pharisees, was important because on the basis of this idea later rabbinism was "able to construct an expression of piety which did not depend upon the Temple at all" (Neusner, Early 65). If the Torah was of central importance, then knowledge of Torah took precedence over performance of cultic rites by the priests. The third point addresses this same problem. The Pharisaic-Rabbinic Judaism of the period following 70 CE placed great emphasis on the (temporary) replacement of the cult of the destroyed Temple with the leadership of rabbis and the "replication of cultic piety" by the individual (Neusner, Early 69). This idea did not develop out of an outright rejection of

Category: Philosophy - R