Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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M A S M I D To Ihc Jews, tlic predictions ol the I ' topin is ,is in Israel ' s punishment seemed to have been luHilled in the |iersetutions of Antioihiis, Their ixpaiia lions as to the desirability ol obedieiue to the Law and exhortations as to the results of dis obedience to it were in accord with the new jiosi lion occupied by the Law in Jewish life. A more intense and active preoccupation with the tradi lional sacred literature became evident. The de sire to collect and to edit the Holy Writings marked the beginning of the choice between the religious books which afterwards was to result ill the fixing of llic third group of books in die Bible, The Sacred Writings. We are indebted to the literary activity of this period for the present form of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, the Twelve Minor Prophets, and possibly the Psalms, as well as for the writing of Daniel and of several books of the Apocrypha. The reaction against Hellenism expressed itself in a strengthening of characteristically Jewish modes and customs. The interest in editing the Scriptures led to an increased popular use of and important developments in the Hebrew language. The close contact of the people with the Asiatic nations had witnessed the supersession of the Hebrew by the Aramaic. The more intense pre- occupation with the Biblical works effected a renaissance in the Holy language. It underwent a rejuvenation and became for a second time, albeit in an altered form, the popular language of the people. The attempt to crush the Jews as a national group had ended in failure. The projected death- blow to their religion met with even less success. The Jews were thus inspired with renewed con- fidence in God and faith in their destiny. Their successful opposition to the vastly superior forces of Syria was ample proof to them that Divine Providence had intervened to save them from extinction. Their message, the Jews were con- vinced, was one of truth; they were destined to preach it to humanity. This period, with its alternation of persecution and freedom, of defeat and victory, also witnessed .1 very important development in (he Messianic iiKil, During the dark days of the persecution. the Jews sought solace in their visions of the Mes- sianic era when Israel would preach God ' s message to mankind. The assumption by Simon and Aris- lobulus II of complete civil power lent fuel to their Messianic hopes. A King was seated on the Throne of David. True, he was not of David ' s lineage; nevertheless, the people rejoiced in his presence on the throne and eagerly anticipated the day when the Messiah, a true decendant of David, would rule in Israel. Those of the Psalms written during this period give expression to these eschatological hopes. Henceforth, the vision of the Messianic Redemption was always to be for the Jews a ray of light and comfort shining through the dark clouds of oppression. The Hasmonean period awakened, as well, a new spirit of national consciousness. The triumph of the Maccabeans and the Hasmoneans over the powerful armies of Syria and the people ' s first taste of real independence sent the life blood of national sentiment coursing through their veins. The little country which for years had been the football of the great powers in their international play began to feel a sense of its own importance. The first development of a national sentiment that kindled in the Jewish people a desire for national prestige and political autonomy can thus be traced to the Hasmonean era. It is evident that the developments of this period are for Judaism of profound importance. Jewish life and Jewish religion owe much to the Hasmonean era. The expulsion of the Hellenistic influence permitted Judaism to remain a pure and unique entity. The Jews were enabled to retain their distinctive religious life and to preach to the world the message of Judaism. The strengthening of their faith tightened the bonds that united the people and proved to be a vital factor in the na- tional survival of the Jewish people. The new- zeal for the Law made religion the concern of every individual and achieved a more thorough- Sineteei

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M A SMID however, merely affected the external manifesta- tions of Hebrew civilization. The essence of Judaism was to remain strictly and purely Jewish. If the expulsion of Hellenistic influence from Palestine served to determine in part tlie nature of Judaism by preventing encroachment from with- out, profound developments within the nation it- self were to play an equally important role in shaping the future character of Jewish life. Fostered by the turmoil and instability of the period many divergent factions made their ap- pearance. Whether the accentuation of existing tendencies or the development of new thought, fundamentally different philosophies of Jewish life were brought into violent conflict with each other. And when the smoke of battle had cleared and Pharisaism had emerged the victor, the foundation was laid for the imposing and durable structure that Judaism was to rear. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the most important of these parties. While limitations of space prevent a discussion of the fundamental assumptions of both sects, of the development of the Pharisaic tendency from Ezra to the Hasmoneans or of the growth of the Sadducees, several factors must be noted. Ezra on his return from Babylon sought to make the religion which in former times had been mainly the collective expression of the nation ' s devotion to God, the personal concern of each individual. Successive generations of Sopherim worked out into fuller detail the implicit contents of the Torah as changing circumstances called for further interpretation of the original precepts. The impact of Hellenism weakened the hold of the people on Judaism; the revolt of the Maccabees strengthened their devotion to the religion of Torah. The Law became once more the core of Jewish life. With the increasing importance of the Jewish nation as a political entity, religion was mixed with politics to an extent which dis- pleased no small number of the people. There was therefore again a movement towards a stricter interpretation of the Torah and a more thorough- going obedience to its requirements on the p.irt of a minority on the one side, to correspond with the movement towards worldliness ' on the other side . . . Those who formed the governing class, the great families and the chief priests, were the Sadducees. Those who maintained the full strict- ness of the religion of the Torah were the Pha- risees. The Pharisees accepted the Oral Tradi- tion as implicitly as they did the Written Word and kept the religion of the Torah as a living principle, capable of being adapted to the fresh developments of religious life; the Sadducees held to the letter of the original scripture and refused innovation. The later years of the Hasmonean rule witnessed the decline in power of the Sad- ducees and with the War of 70 A.D. they passed completely from Jewish life. The importance of the Pharisees ' triumph cannot be overemphasized for the Rabbinic tradition which is so fully ex- pressed in the Mishna and in the Talmud and which through the medium of these monumental works became the foundation on which Jewish life has since rested is the embodiment of Pharisaism. Judaism as a religion has survived the vicissitudes of history because it has been able to adapt its fundamental principles to varying con- ditions and to changing circumstances. Any move- ment such as that of the Sadducees that would have clung stubbornly to the letter of the Written Law, that refused to accept the Oral Tradition and the interpretation of the Rabbis, and to which in- novations were tabu, would have sounded the death knell of the Jewish religion and, with it, that of the Jewish people. The attempt to deprive the Jews of their own religious life had resulted, as we have seen, in a new enthusiasm for the Law and in a more zealous application of its principles to every-day life. Similarily, the endeavor to destroy the sources from which they drew their inspiration, the Holy Writings, had the effect of rendering these treasures even more precious than they had hitherto been. The writings of the Prophets as- sumed a new importance in the eyes of the people. Eighteen

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M A SMID iioing application of its principles in daily life. The triumph of Pharisaism paved the way for the development of the Rabbinic tradition as the very basis of Judaism. The acceptance of the Oral Law and of innovation made of Judaisin a living and vibrant religion, one that was developed to meet the exigencies presented by varying en- vironments, rather than remaining a static entity conflicting with its surroundings. The enthusiasm for the Law manifested itself in increased ac- tivity and interest in editing and collecting the Holy Writings. The Prophetic Works became of prime importance in Jewish teaching and the ideals of these great leaders rendered Jewish life richer and more meaningful. The threat to the Hebrew language of extinction at the hands of the Aramaic was repulsed by the feverish preoccupation with the Sacred Writings. It became as of old the tongue of the people. The crystallization and strengthening of the Messianic ideal that later became one of the basic tenets of the Jewish faith can be traced directly to the period under con- sideration. And finally, the awakening of the stupefied national sentiment kindled in the Jews the race consciousness and the desire for inde- pendence that enabled them to preserve their iden- tity throughout centuries of exile and that has re- cently burst forth in the form of the greatest of modern miracles, the return of the nation to Eretz Israel and to freedom. Jn 1 outh and Age Dear child, if childish eagerness essayed To drink unbidden from the cup of wine Some adult has prepared . . . when youths incline Their heads aloft to where ideals have strayed, And clutching fingers on a peak are stayed ; If youthful hearts make quite unpeered design Upon the nymphs born of supernal line, — Should age laugh at the insolence displayed? Or can a stripling scale the laddered heights Dividing young from old and old from young, — • Till, like in footing, striving side by side. They quaff together from earth ' s cupped delights, As peers lamented, and on par unsung. Till pitted combat halts their bumptious stride? Bernard Dov Milians Twenty