Rabbinic Judaism

Background

"Rabbi" is a Hebrew honorific meaning "my teacher." The New Testament also records Jesus being addressed by this title (John 1:38). Jewish society in the first century included several groups. Among them were the priestly class and the Sadducees, who oversaw the sacrifices of the Jerusalem Temple; the Pharisees, who emphasized the interpretation of the Law and its practice in daily life; and the Essenes, who lived in separate communities. The Pharisees accepted as authoritative tradition not only the written Law, the Pentateuch, but also the interpretations and customs handed down from generation to generation. This was later formulated as the concept of the "Oral Law," that is, the law transmitted by word of mouth. Gamaliel, who appears in the Book of Acts as the teacher of Paul (Acts 22:3), is also remembered in Jewish tradition as an early sage.

Development

• AD 70: The Roman army captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. With the cessation of sacrifice, the influence of the priests and the Sadducees declined sharply, and a way was needed to sustain the faith without a temple.
• After 70: According to tradition, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai established an academy in the coastal town of Yavneh (Jamnia) and gathered scholars of the Law there. It has commonly been stated that a "Council of Jamnia" held around this time fixed the Old Testament canon. Today, however, many scholars question whether any formal council determined the canon.
• 132–135: The revolt against Rome led by Bar Kokhba failed. Jews were subsequently barred from entering Jerusalem, and the center of learning shifted to Galilee.
• Around 200: Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi is traditionally credited with compiling the Mishnah, a topical arrangement of the Oral Law.
• Around 400 and around 500: The Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud, which collect the discussions and commentary of later rabbis on the Mishnah, were produced in succession. Scholars differ on the exact dates of their completion.

Results and Influence

Prayer, the study of the Law, and good deeds took the place of animal sacrifice, and the synagogue became the center of religious life. Communities were led not by priests but by rabbis, scholars learned in the Law. Norms governing every area of life, including the Sabbath, dietary laws, and the festivals, were systematized on the basis of the Talmud. Between roughly the seventh and tenth centuries, Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes added vowel points and annotations to the Hebrew Bible. The Masoretic Text transmitted in this way is the principal basis of Protestant translations of the Old Testament today. Present-day Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism, though they differ in the latitude of their interpretation, all derive from the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism.

Assessment

• Jewish understanding: Judaism regards this tradition as having preserved both the people and the faith through the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion. Traditionally, Jews believe that the Oral Law was given to Moses at Sinai together with the written Law.
• Christian understanding: Christians long tended to portray the Pharisees and Rabbinic Judaism as a legalism that sought salvation by works. In the late twentieth century, studies reassessing this view appeared. E. P. Sanders's Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977) described the Judaism reflected in rabbinic literature as a religion of keeping the Law within a covenant established by God's grace, and such studies gave rise to the discussion known as the "New Perspective on Paul." This interpretation has been criticized, chiefly within the Reformed tradition, for obscuring the doctrine of justification.
• Use in New Testament studies: Rabbinic literature is widely consulted for understanding the background of the New Testament. Some scholars urge caution, however, noting that because the Mishnah and the Talmud were compiled later than the New Testament, their contents should not be read directly as reflecting first-century conditions.