Jewish Teaching Research Articles

Ethical Role of a State in Ancient Jewish Political and Legal Thought

In this article, the author wonders how ancient Judaic legal thought, originally formed at the communal, pre-state level, really justifies the existence of a state, not only in terms of physical security for collective security, but also as a component of the paradigm of moral improvement of society. Based on the analysis of the commandments and attitudes of TaNaHa, the place assigned by Jewish teaching to various human institutions is examined in detail, and an answer is given to the question whether it is possible to preserve the integrity and identity of the people, without the binding and controlling role of the state. In the course of the study, a critical view of this religious and legal theory on the nature of man as a whole is stated, and the presence of recommendations, following which is intended to help correct the shortcomings inherent in humanity, which is «related» to Jewish creed with many other religious and ethical constructions. On the example of the teachings of Judaism, the patterns of the formation of ethical models of social mechanisms are analyzed – from more realistic in the form of a community and a state, to more complex, suggesting a high moral level that allows the community to do without a state apparatus of coercion. It is concluded that religious-traditional teachings can become an example of successful practices for the revival of national social solidarity. Since ethical institutions formulated in religious and legal concepts, taking into account the original characteristics of the peoples to whom they are addressed, the specifics of their traditions, can become the basis for improving the moral background of modern society. In addition, religious-legal theories, which have become the basis for the emergence of other religious teachings, have significant potential for borrowing and using their institutions and concepts in other legal systems, due to the universality of basic principles.

Jesus the Teacher of truth

Many people try to historically dispute the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The aim of this paper is to find contrary claims in the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is the eternal Teacher. This implies that Jesus’ mission has not come to end with his mission on Earth. In the first part of the paper, we will explain the Old and New Testaments’ meanings of a teacher. This will be followed with stating the differences between Jesus’ teaching and the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. The aim of this is to prove the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth. In the second part of the paper, we will deal with the consideration of truth and connect the concepts of authenticity and truth. The eternal teacher of the Truth with his teaching frees those who accept him and encourages them to change their hearts and lives. His teaching transcends time and space boundaries. In comparison to the teachers of this world, Jesus is an authentic teacher who lives all that he teaches as example for his disciples of his communion with his Father. The teaching of Jesus is different from the Jewish teaching, as well as from any other teaching. Jesus as teacher of teachers provides an example of learning, especially in situations of temptation. As a teacher, Jesus has a unique “educational plan” - the doctrine of God’s kingdom and His teaching methods have a strong effect on students.

Maksim Grek’s Writings against the Jews in His Codices

The handwritten heritage of Maksim Grek contains three epistles contending the Jewish teaching. They do not constitute a series and occupy different positions in the codices of the author’s intra vitam writings. Based on them, Russian scholars have long developed a concept of the active participation of Maksim Grek in fighting the heresy of the Judaizers, which is disproved by the modern studies of the publicist’s works. The study aims to determine the role of the anti-Jewish writings of the Wise Man from the Mount of Athos in forming the author’s codices. Two works occupy the position of concluding chapters of the codices. The polemic Writings Contending Samuel the Jew have signs of a text closely related to another one. There is neither an introduction nor a conclusion, the statements are brief, and the system of an internal organisation into rubrics is unclear. The text is to be perceived in the context of the source, i. e. The Epistle of Rabbi Samuel of Morocco. A similar text architectonics is observed in the Epistle to a Certain Man who became interested in Lucidarius. Words against Samuel Israeli was written in the late 1540s in Tver Otroch Monastery as a reaction to the request of a certain Georgy to comment on The Epistle of Rabbi Samuel of Morocco. The essay was attached, maybe by one of the scholars, as chapter 73 to the Khludov Сollection, written in the early 1550s in St Trinity Monastery. The Advice to the Orthodox Congress on Isak the Jew, a Magician, Sorcerer, and Cheat proved intriguing. Its title does not match the content, nor is it possible to determine which congress is meant and who Isak the Jew was. We cannot agree with the assumption that Isak Sobaka was the main character. The author emphasises the intertext ties between The Advice to the Orthodox Congress and the 1554 message of Ivan IV to Maksim Grek. The main idea of The Advice to the Orthodox Congress to execute heretics could not have been authored by Maksim Grek. The Advice occupies the place of one of the last chapters (Chapter 45) of the Joasaphus Collection and may be inauthentic. The Word on the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, also against the Jews (Chapter 5 of the Joasaphus Collection) is an example of a solemn speech by an Orthodox preacher written in the late 1530s – early 1540s and should be regarded as a programmatic work by Maksim Grek contending the Jewish teaching. The main goal of the ecclesiastical publicist is to prove the divine nature of Christ and to accuse the Jews of His death. The dispersion of the three compositions in the systematised codices indicates different times of their creation, varying intentions, and diverse implementations of the author’s concepts.

Uncovering the Meaning of Hupomone for Paul: A Biblical Analysis and Its Implications for the Christian Life

The aim of the research is to reveal the deep meaning of hupomone for Paul. Paul saw his obedience and loyality of the teaching he believe. He strongly defended the Jewish teaching and did the customer of his ancestors before he repented. It also happened when he lived in Christ after his repentance. This research used biblical analysis as the tool to reveal the meaning of hupomone for Paul. The result of the research indicates the hupomone for Paul is his basic attitudes, such as being stickle, stand firm, being steadfast, and being persevere as the loyal followers of best. The writer emphasizesthe meaning of hupomone is very relevant, it has impacts for Christian in this era to face many problems in the world.

When the Cheese Moves: How Arab and Jewish Education Students Perceive the Transition to Distance Practical Teaching During the Covid-19 Crisis

The goal of the current study was to examine teaching students’ positions and perceptions regarding the transition to an online format for practical teaching during Covid-19, and whether differences exist between Jewish and Arab students’ positions. The study also examines teaching students’ technological and pedagogical self-efficacies for distance teaching and the extent of differences between the Arab and Jewish students’ self-efficacies. In addition, the study examined which background and personality variables predict positions and perceptions. The findings are based on a questionnaire completed by 279 Arab and Jewish teaching students from two Israeli teacher education colleges that transitioned to online practical teaching as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the questionnaire findings and to expand on topics not referred to in the questionnaire. The study reveals that teaching students accept the importance of the distance teaching experience during training in order to prepare them for the changing reality. Nevertheless, this cannot fully replace field experience because of the need for support and the limited ability to learn from the distance experience about face-to-face teaching.

Kiddush HaShem as Machloket: Martyrdom in the Medieval Ashkenazi and Sephardi Worlds

Religious persecution is one of the most consistent and enduring themes across the diverse history of the Jewish people. The Megillah Esther (The Scroll of Esther) presents an archetype of the perennial existential challenge to Jewish faith and has offered a framework for various Jewish leaders attempting to formulate an adequate response to such challenges when they arise, i.e. kiddush HaShem (martyrdom). This paper specifically explores the interpretive divergence between Jewish leadership in medieval Sepharad (Spain) and Ashkenaz (Germany and Northern France) as informed by their distinct sociohistorical milieus. Writing in the context of the violent First Crusade, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki of Tosafist authority interprets the Purim narrative as a strong message on religious purity that necessitates kiddush HaShem in the face of forced conversion. Conversely, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), in the context of the culturally fluid and diverse Andalusia, interprets the Purim narrative to allow for Jews to assume an alien faith in order to preserve their lives. These two titans of Jewish teaching (who lived in similar periods not far from each other) offer seemingly diametric orderings of Jewish values, e.g. ritualistic duty vs. faith. These differences, however, derived from divergent historical circumstances, highlight the malleability of halakhic procedure as a transhistorical tool that allows Jewish authorities to consistently overcome societal adversity.

Полемика о концепциях зла и провидения в средневековой еврейской философии: Герсонид и Крескас

This paper is devoted to the analysis and to the comparison of concepts on theodicy and on the nature of evil that was developed by two medieval Jewish philosophers. They are Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides or Ralbag, 1288-1344) and Hasdai Crescas (1340-1410/12). The sources of the analysis are the third chapter of the fourth book of the “Wars of the Lord” (1329) by Gersonides and the second chapter of the second book of the “Light of the Lord” (1410) by Crescas. Both philosophers assert that evil essentially cannot come from God. The causes of evil are the sinfulness of human beings, or the celestial bodies, or the breaking of the connection between human and God. The problem of evil and injustice in this world are closely related for Gersonides and Crescas to other problems, such as divine knowledge of future events, free will, reasons for reward and punishment. Gersonides and Crescas differ considerably on these issues. Gersonides demonstrates that God is not an essential source of evil. He proceeded to build on this statement with the fallacy of the opinion that divine providence extends to individuals. After all, said Gersonides, retribution would make God a source of evil. And in this case, righteous men would always be rewarded, and sinners would always be punished for their sins. But obviously this is not the case. Crescas, in contrast to Gersonides, claims that God knows individuals. This does not prevent him from agreeing with Ralbagh that God is not the source of evil. According to Crescas, any punishment or suffering (even for the righteous) always leads to good. It is obvious therefore that Crescas adheres to a more traditional position, trying, inter alia, to bring his thoughts as close as possible to the ideas expressed in the Torah. Gersonides adheres to a position close to the ideas of Maimonides. Gersonides, in the author’s opinion, created a philosophical concept that is more consistent in comparison with Crescas’ conception, however more distant from the Jewish teaching.

The Named Jew and the Name of God

Abstract A connection between Paul’s charges against his interlocutor in Rom 2:21–22 and Josephus’s account of a notorious Jewish teacher in Rome (A.J. 18.81–84) is a catalyst for re-examining the purpose, topic, and argument of Rom 2:17–29. The foreground issue is not the soteriological status of Jews, but the effectiveness of typical Jewish law-based teaching to solve human foolishness, wickedness, and impiety. Paul reframes the discourse topic to demonstrate that typical Jewish law-based educational activity is ineffective in bringing about God’s glory among the nations. The interlocutor is thus a foil for Paul’s own eschatologically conceived apostolic ministry.

What Can Jewish Scholarship Contribute to Jewish Teaching?: The Case of the Rabbinic Tale

ABSTRACT What does it mean for teachers to “know their subject matter” and what are—or might be—the sources of teachers’ knowledge? The article contends that there is an underutilized potential resource for Jewish teachers that Judaica scholarship about classic texts may offer to pedagogy. The article examines, as a model, the Rabbinic tale—stories found in Rabbinic literature about the Rabbis themselves—homing in on the ways that this literature is viewed by scholars today. It then explores the pedagogic implications of this scholarship and suggests both the advantages and complexities in using Judaica scholarship in this fashion.

Religious Education and Sacred Study in the Teachings of Rabbi Yitshak Hutner

Rabbi Yitshak Hutner (1906–1980) was a remarkable scholar, an enigmatic religious intellectual and a charismatic teacher. Drawing upon his public discourses and his written letters, I argue that Hutner’s vocabulary—which remained rooted almost entirely in the vocabulary of traditional Talmudism—afforded him a ready garment in which to clothe a syncretic educational theory, which combines Hasidic approaches to spiritual instruction and remakes the traditions of Lithuanian piety and study for his new American audience. The present study interrogates a series of key themes that appear in Hutner’s teachings, all of which pertain to issues of pedagogy and the construction of religious education. The essay advances a historical argument by examining the works of an important and influential modern Jewish thinker, but it is also driven by a constructive question: What does Hutner’s vision of Jewish religious teaching and learning have to contribute to today’s Jewish education, and to the broader world of higher education in North America in particular?

Educating Australia’s Jewish Communities about Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT It has been claimed that effective responses to child sexual abuse (CSA) must engage with the specific cultural, social, and religious contexts of the target communities. For Jewish communities in Australia, the program J-Safe was established to raise awareness, create cultural change, and empower the Jewish community to be able to prevent, recognize, and address child sexual assault within the school setting. This paper reports on the experiences of teachers in two Jewish-day schools who had participated in the J-Safe Project’s protective behaviors teacher training program. Participants’ accounts of the training indicate the Project builds teachers’ knowledge and supports teachers’ skill development in the areas of incidence, behavioral indicators and responding to disclosure suggest the training has relevance for the Jewish teaching context. However, the extent to which the training was successful at engaging with culturally specific norms within the Jewish community seems to have been limited, although it may be that the participants were not atypical from the wider group who participated in the J-Safe Project training.

Does Christ's Law Apply to All?

AbstractAre the commands and exhortations of the Lord Jesus directed to his disciples only or are they directed to all mankind? The question arises from an examination of traditional Jewish teaching, around the time of Jesus's life in Palestine, that Jewish Law applies only to Jews. Seeing that there is no way of knowing what God requires of humans unless he reveals his requirements, and seeing that God's revealing of any requirements he has made has been carried out by Jesus the Christ and, further, that the best evidence for his teachings are the accounts of his teaching in the New Testament, this article examines it and concludes that his Law applies only to his disciples.

When Land is God

When Land is God

Divine Creation and Human Mortality from Genesis to Ben Sira

Despite the differences between the Priestly creation story in Genesis 1 and the Yahwist’s creation narrative in Genesis 2–3, several Second Temple period Jewish texts began to harmonize both accounts. Ben Sira (Sirach) makes selective use of both Genesis creation stories, especially when referring to human mortality. While Sirach 25:24 implies an allusion to sin and death entering the world through Eve, Sirach 17:1–2 appears to pass over the primeval sin and instead seems to regard human mortality as a natural disposition by the Creator who providentially allots humanity a fixed number of days of earthly life. Like some interpretations of Genesis 3 within early Judaism and Christianity, emphasizing human mortality as deriving from the primeval sin, Ben Sira echoes the primeval punishment of humanity (Genesis 3:19) by employing the verb ‘return’ in Sirach 17:1. Thereafter, Sirach 17:2 follows Jewish sapiential reflection (especially Psalm 90) and Stoic teaching to present death as something natural within God’s providential plan.

Talking My Way In

AbstractIn the lecture she gave at the Day of Celebration to mark twenty-five years of ordaining LGBT rabbis by Leo Baeck College on 23 June 2014, Rabbi Dr Rachel Adler spoke persuasively and encouragingly of ‘newcomers’ to the ongoing Jewish ‘conversation’, ‘affecting the tradition’ by teaching the tradition ‘to re-understand its own stories’, and also by telling ‘stories that the tradition does not know at all’. For most of my rabbinate, I was engaged in the first kind of storytelling. More recently, I have been doing more of the second kind. In my response to Rachel Adler’s lecture, I trace my journey, both within the context of the developing women’s rabbinate and as a particular journey taken by a lesbian feminist queer rabbi determined that the voices, perspectives and lives of LGBTQ Jews are included within and transform Jewish life and teaching.

‘Julle noem My Leermeester … en julle is reg, want Ek is dit’ (Joh 13:13). Onderrig in die Evangelie van Johannes

Teaching in John’s Gospel In this article the significance is analysed of the Johannine concept of teaching and related themes, like teachers, different ways of teaching, both formal and informal. Both terminological as well as conceptual references to teaching are considered. It is shown that the teaching of Jesus to his followers is described in terms of Jewish rabbinic activities and that social conventions in this respect are honoured. However, when the Father teaches Jesus, the metaphor changes to typical Jewish teaching within a family context where the father teaches his child through example. The child observes what the father says and mimes these actions and words. This ensures that the teaching of Jesus corresponds to that of the Father. When Jesus goes back to his Father, the Paraclete continues this educational process by reminding and guiding the followers of the words of Jesus. The Gospel however refrains from describing the followers of Jesus as teachers, but calls them witnesses to the teaching of Jesus – the teaching remains that of Jesus. This concept is so central to the theology of John that the theological structure would collapse if it would be ignored or downplayed.

The Sexual Use of Slaves: A Response to Kyle Harper on Jewish and Christian Porneia

Kyle Harper has argued that by the first century CE, porneia “was the chief vice in a [Jewish] system of sexual morality rooted in conjugal sexuality. For Hellenistic Jews, in a culture where sex with dishonored women, especially prostitutes and slaves, was legal and expected, the term condensed the cultural differences between the observers of the Torah and Gentile depravity” (“ Porneia : The Making of a Christian Sexual Norm,” JBL 131 [2012]: 374). Harper argues that for Paul, as for other first-century Jews, porneia encompassed “that wide subset of extramarital sexual activity that was tolerated in Greek culture, the sexual use of dishonored women” (p. 378). I demonstrate, however, that Hellenistic Jewish writers did not use the word porneia to refer to a man’s exploitation of slaves he owned. Moreover, while Jewish writers promoted conjugal sexuality, they were tolerant of extramarital sexual relationships between slaveholders and enslaved women. We have no evidence that Paul challenged that sexual norm. This article thus (1) clarifies the parameters of the contested term porneia ; (2) contributes to an understanding of the logic of Jewish sexual ethics during the Second Temple period; and (3) locates Paul’s silence on the sexual exploitation in the context of first-century Jewish teaching.

The Sexual Use of Slaves: A Response to Kyle Harper on Jewish and Christian <em>Porneia</em>

Kyle Harper has argued that by the first century CE, porneia “was the chief vice in a [Jewish] system of sexual morality rooted in conjugal sexuality. For Hellenistic Jews, in a culture where sex with dishonored women, especially prostitutes and slaves, was legal and expected, the term condensed the cultural differences between the observers of the Torah and Gentile depravity” (“Porneia: The Making of a Christian Sexual Norm,” JBL 131 [2012]: 374). Harper argues that for Paul, as for other first-century Jews, porneia encompassed “that wide subset of extramarital sexual activity that was tolerated in Greek culture, the sexual use of dishonored women” (p. 378). I demonstrate, however, that Hellenistic Jewish writers did not use the word porneia to refer to a man's exploitation of slaves he owned. Moreover, while Jewish writers promoted conjugal sexuality, they were tolerant of extramarital sexual relationships between slaveholders and enslaved women. We have no evidence that Paul challenged that sexual norm. This article thus (1) clarifies the parameters of the contested term porneia; (2) contributes to an understanding of the logic of Jewish sexual ethics during the Second Temple period; and (3) locates Paul's silence on the sexual exploitation in the context of first-century Jewish teaching.

Die Debatte über den Titel der „Didache“

Abstract: According to many scholars the extant text of the “Didache” has two different titles, and it is debated which title is the original one. But this is not in accordance with manuscript H 54, the only witness of the text of the Didache, and most modern editions misrepresent the beginning of the Didache in H 54. In this article it is argued that, just as it is in H 54, the so-called long title is the introduction to the “Teaching of the Two Ways”. Together with 6,1–3 this introduction frames the traditional Jewish teaching which functions as Christian Baptism catechism for non-Jewish neophytes. They are encouraged, but not obliged to fulfil the Jewish law. It is only obligatory to abstain from food sacrificed to idols.

Repentance and Forgiveness

During the Spring of 1996, with the support of the American Jewish Committee, I was privileged to be in Rome to teach Jewish Studies at the Gregorian Pontifical University. The entire Rome experience was amazing (see my “Letter from Rome,” Cross Currents, Fall 1996, pp. 388–393). This paper is part of a continuing conversation with colleagues and friends in Rome as well as elsewhere in the Catholic world. In the spirit of ongoing Catholic-Jewish dialogue, I offer the following reflections on the Jewish teaching on repentance and forgiveness, which is an old tradition, reaching back thousands of years and drawing on the wisdom of untold numbers of sages. As a further part of the dialogue, I include here the Hebrew terms, accented for proper pronunciation, together with a short bibliography. (Note: the Hebrew “ch” is pronounced as in the German “Loch.”)