|  | # THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD ### From The Time Of Its Formation, About 200 B. C., up to the Present Time DIVIDED INTO TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I. — ITS DEVELOPMENT AND THE PERSECUTIONS SINCE ITS BIRTH UP TO DATE, INCLUDING ALL RELIGIOUS DISPUTES AND BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SEPARATED SECTS VOLUME II. — THE HISTORICAL AND LITERARY INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION: ETHICS, METHOD, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS CRITICISM, ETC.
by ## MICHAEL L. RODKINSON Volume I. (XIX.) NEW YORK NEW TALMUD PUBLISHING COMPANY 1117 SIMPSON STREET
COPYRIGHT, 1903, BY MICHAEL L. RODKINSON
THE REV. MICHAEL L. RODKINSON, D. T. TO HIM WHO IS A LIBERAL DONOR TO ALLPHILANTHROPIC INSTITUTIONS A fRIEND OF iSRAEL'S PUREST IDEALS, LITERATURE AND RELIGION ADOLPH LEWISOHN, ESQ. THIS BOOK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR MICHAEL L. RODKINSON NEW YORK, IN MONTH ELUL, SEPTEMBER 1ST, 1903
| PREFACE. |
THE ancient authors used to begin the prefaces to their works with the proverb "Sepher be Lo Hakdamha keguph be Lo nechamaha," which means "A book without a preface is similar to a body without a soul"; and, indeed, this proverb remains forever true. At the time we began our translation of the Talmud, we were aware that to the study of it a clear preface which should explain its nature and the character of the sages mentioned in it was necessary, as without it there would be great difficulty for students in catching the real meaning, and in some places the reader would be confused, not being aware of its history and of the names mentionedwho these were and when they existed. With this in mind, we had already prepared the present work in 1897, when only a few volumes of our translation had been issued. Although we gave a brief general introduction to the first volume of the translation, and also some prefaces and introductions in the succeeding volumes, they do not suffice for the student who desires to have a clear idea of all that he is studying. However, the translation has taken up so much of our time that it has hitherto been impossible for us to look up everything pertinent to our purpose that has been written and to submit it in presentable form. Now, after the completion, with the Divine help of. the two large sections, containing twenty-seven tracts, and in response to many inquiries from the reading public for some explanations, we find that now is the time to put forth this work; and, instead of adding two more volumes to the translation of the Talmud in the current year, we have decided to furnish the two volumes which form our "History of the Talmud." It may be inferred that what was written several years ago has had to be thoroughly revised and corrected, according to the literature which has appeared since that time. There is an
vi | PREFACE. |
old witticism, "Koshe Atika Me Chadtha"; i.e., "It is more difficult to correct an old thing than to write a new one"; and, as a matter of fact, it has taken a great deal of time to make the necessary changes and corrections in what we had written. As a natural consequence, the work is enlarged, and many chapters have been added since the issue of our prospectus. All this concerns the first volume of this work, as it relates to the history of the Talmud only, as to which there has been little new information. True there have been some new dissertations on the Talmud in Germany, but they do not add much to our knowledge concerning it, and may therefore be ignored. The second volume, however, we have had to recast and rewrite. In this labor the wonderful work of that western light which was recently extinguished-we mean the Rev. Dr. Mielziner-" Introduction to the Talmud," which has reached a second edition and has been so favorably received by all students of both continents, was of great service to us. As Dr. Mielziner's work contains essentially all that concerns the Talmud itself, we resolved to take it as a text for our historical introduction, adding and abating as we deemed necessary. We have done so, also, with the second part, "The Ethics of the Talmud," which he arranged so admirably. Here, also, we have added whatever, according to our knowledge, there was left for us to bring to the attention of the reader. Now, the work being finished, we regard it as a suitable preface to our translation and one which will enlighten the understanding of the reader in many places. At the same time, it seems to us to be interesting to the general reader who has neither time nor inclination for the study of the Talmud. This is all we need say in the preface, referring the reader for more details to our introduction, which follows. THE AUTHOR. NEW YORK, September, 1903.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
| PAGE
PREFACE | v
INTRODUCTION | 1
CHAPTER I. THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME "TALMUD." THE SAMARITANS. ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES. THE SADDUCEES. | 5
CHAPTER II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TALMUD DURING THE LAST CENTURY OF THE SECOND TEMPLE'S EXISTENCE (i.e. THE FIRST A.C.) SHEMAIA. ABTALIAN. HILLEL. SHAMMAL. THE PRINCES (NASIS) OF ISRAEL. R. JOHANAN B. ZAKKAI. SANHEDRIN OF JAMNIA. THE JEWISH CHRISTIANS | 7
CHAPTER III. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE. THE FALL OF BETHEL. THE MASSACRE OF THE SAGES OF THE TALMUD, TILL THE WRITING OF THE MISHNA IN THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD CENTURY. | 10
CHAPTER IV. THE THIRD CENTURY. THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE MISHNAS. THE TALMUDIC COLLEGES OF PALESTINE AND BABYLONIA. | 13
CHAPTER V. THE TALMUD OF JERUSALEM, THE TALMUD OF BABYLONIA, THE CHARACTER OF THEIR HALAKHA AND HAGADA, THE DATES OF THEIR COMPLETION AND THEIR SYSTEMATIZATION | 17
CHAPTER VI. THE PERSECUTIONS OF THE TALMUD IN THE PERSIAN AND BYZANTINE EMPIRES IN THE SIXTH CENTURY AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE TALMUD | 23
CHAPTER VII. THE EIGHTH CENTURY. THE DOMINION OF THE GAONIM. THE OPPOSITION OF THE KARAITES. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SECT OF THAT NAME | 25
CHAPTER VIII. ISLAM AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE TALMUD | 33
CHAPTER IX. THE VICTORY OF KARAISM OVER THE SPIRITUAL DOMINION OF THE TALMUD AND THE MIND OF THE JEWISH NATION. THE LAST GAONIM AT SURA AND PUMBEDITHA. THE CENTRE OF TALMUDIC STUDY TRANSFERRED FROM MESOPOTAMIA TO SPAIN. THE SCHOLARS OF KAIRUBAN. THE PERIOD OF THE GREATEST DIFFUSION OF TALMUDIC STUDY | 36
CHAPTER X. THE SPANISH WRITERS. A BRIEF SURVEY OF THEIR WRITINGS RELATING TO THE TALMUD | 43
CHAPTER XI. THE SCHOLARS OF GERMANY AND OF NORTHERN FRANCE, AND WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTED TO THE STUDIES OF THE TALMUD | 50
CHAPTER XII. THE DOCTORS OF FRANCE. AUTHORS OF THE TOSPHOTH | 57
CHAPTER XIII. RELIGIOUS DISPUTES OF ALL PERIODS | 61
CHAPTER XIV. REUCHLIN, PFEFFERKORN, AND THE TALMUD IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES | 76
CHAPTER XV. POLEMICS WITH MUSSULMANS AND THE DISPUTES WITH THE FRANKISTS. | 99
CHAPTER XVI. THE PERSECUTIONS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, THE HEAD OF WHOM WAS JOHANN ANDREAS EISENMENGER | 104
CHAPTER XVII. THE POLEMICS AND THE ATTACKS UPON THE TALMUD IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY | 106
CHAPTER XVIII. THE AFFAIR OF RHOLING-BLOCK | 109
CHAPTER XIX. EXILARCHS; THE TALMUD AT THE STAKE AND ITS DEVELOPMENT AT THE PRESENT TIME | 115
APPENDIX A. NOS. I TO 18 CONTAINS EIGHTEEN EXPLANATORY NOTES TO THE TEXT | 121
NO. 19 CONTAINS AN EXTRACT OF THE CONCLUSION OF OUR REVIEW TO DR. KOPF'S BOOK, MENTIONED IN TEXT. | 125
NO. 20 CONTAINS A TRANSLATION OF A FEW PAGES OF OUR BOOK, "DER SCHULCHAN ARUCH UND SEINE BEZIEHUNGEN ZU DEN JUDEN UND NICHTJUDEN," CONCERNING THE TRIAL BEFORE THE "LANDESGERICHTE," AT MUNSTER, DEC. 10, 1883, ABOUT THE ACCUSATION OF THE TALMUD AND SCHULCHAN ARUCH | 126
NO. 21 LETTER OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY | 136
NO. 22 JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA. | 136
APPENDIX B. CRITICISM TO CHAPTER VII. (KARAITES). THE BELIEFS OF SADDUCEES, KARAITES, AND OF THE REFORMED JEWS, AND ALSO ABOUT RESURRECTION | 138
| INTRODUCTION. |
The persecutors of the Talmud during the period ranging from the first century B.C., when it began to take form, to the present day, have varied in their character, objects and actions. In one respect, however, they all agreed, namely, in their general wish to destroy its existence. Careful consideration of its many vicissitudes certainly justifies the assertion that the Talmud is one of the wonders of the world. During the twenty centuries of its existence not one of them has passed without great and powerful enemies vying with each other and exhausting every effort to destroy it; still it survived in its entirety, and not only has the power of its foes failed to destroy even a single line, but it has not even been able materially to weaken its influence for any length of time. It still dominates the minds of a whole people, who venerate its contents as divine truth, and countless numbers have sacrificed their lives and their possessions to save it from perishing. A review of its persecutors, before going into their history would not be amiss. They are the Seleucidae, in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Roman Emperor Nero, Domitian, Hadrian, etc., the Samaritans, the Sadducees, Boethuseans, the followers of Jesus, and all the sects opposed to the Pharisees. Before the development of the Talmud had been completed, when hardly a single section had been arranged systematically and written down, it having been known merely as oral teaching in the mouths of the sages, and reconsidered and analyzed constantly by their disciples in the colleges, it was violently attacked. But no sooner had the Talmud been completed in Babylonia, and the Saburites had put their seal upon it, so to speak, deciding that nothing was to be added to or substracted from, when Justinian decreed practically its death; that is to say, what amounted to the same thing, capital punishment to all those who were occupied in its study (550). Then followed the Karaites, in the days of the Gaonim, who seriously threatened
2 | INTRODUCTION. |
its existence. Time and time again they triumphed over Talmudic Rabbis and were near making an end of the Talmud and of them. The Rabbis next encountered the Popes. From the time of Pope Innocent III., the Talmud was burned at the stake in nearly every century from the 11 11 th to the 11 8th, in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and many other countries, and in the 11 8th, also in Poland by the Frankists, by Bishop Dembovski, where copies were dragged through the streets of the city, tied to horses' tails and then delivered to the executioner to be burned at the stake in Kamenetz, Lemberg, Brody and elsewhere. In most places, before it was resolved what was to be done with Talmud, the Israelites were forced to dispute with its enemies, and had to pay heavy fines for arriving late to the dispute, as well as for being vanquished in argument, the judges being their enemies. Still what has been the result? The Talmud exists to-day, and not one letter in it is missing. It is true, the persecutions against it are not yet at an end; accusations and calumnies by its enemies, under the new name of antiSemites, are still directed against it, while the government of Russia legislates against and restricts the rights of the nation which adheres to the Talmud. No modern persecutions, however, can seriously endanger its existence, and it would appear that the Talmud will also survive them and continue as long as the sky spans the earth. A desire to know all that has befallen the Talmud and all its vicissitudes since its inception would require the reading of all the scattered passages in countless volumes which have been compiled in various ages, languages, and countries. Its history, however, has never yet been written by a single author. Treaties on the Talmud itself, or on certain subjects contained therein, have briefly related part of its history, each according to the subject and the aim of its theme. Such are the works of Zunz and Gratz, the one dealing with rabbinical literature, and the other writing concerning the history of the Jews. Similarly the historians of the world, relating in detail the occurrences of every century, have briefly made mention of what happened to the Talmud in each century. Even in the year there appeared a pamphlet entitled "Anklager and Vertheidiger des Talmud" (accusers and defenders), by Dr. B. Kurrein, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, apparently giving the entire history of
| INTRODUCTION. | 3
the Talmud from its origin to the present time, but it contains only dates (and not even these in full) and not occurrences. No mention is made of Karaites, who persecuted it in the times of the Gaonim, or of the Frankists of the 11 8th century, of its fate during the 15th century; the Pfefferkorn and Reuchlin episode is mentioned only in part, and by no means satisfactory to the reader curious about the details, not to speak of the RohlingBloch, at the end of the 19th century. It is, indeed, a matter of astonishment that hundreds of books have been written about the Talmud by exponents of all sects and in all ages, to say nothing of the extensive modern literature dealing with the Talmud in whole or in part, amounting to thousands of volumes -in particular a work, "Dikduke Sophrim," published in the last century, containing only the dates and publishers' names of the various editions of the Talmud, in seventeen large volumes,with a comparison of all words and letters of the different editions and manuscripts, and this only of two-thirds of the Talmud-the fate of the Talmud, the charges brought against it, the repeated persecutions, the burning at the stake, have not been recorded in a separate work, as though unworthy of notice. It has been thus left for us to supply the deficiency. For we, who have taken upon ourselves the difficult task of editing the old Talmud, to punctuate it in conformity with works in other languages, to systematize and arrange it for a new edition, and to translate it into a modern language, deem it our duty to collect into one book all the records of the vicissitudes of the Talmud in a systematic manner, at the same time stating the causes of many occurrences. It is quite true, that in many places we have been constrained to be brief where a more ample account would not have been out of place, but it must be borne in mind that to expatiate on every incident would lead to the writing of a volume equal in bulk to the Talmud itself, perhaps even larger, and time would not permit such an undertaking. In one respect, however, we will do our duty; we will arrange all the events chronologically, and we have taken pains to denote the time and place of different events and likewise to name the persecutors of the Talmud. We trust this volume will meet with a favorable reception from the readers, for our work was done conscientiously, and to the utmost of our talents. To save space, we have not on every
4 | INTRODUCTION. |
occasion mentioned the authorities from whom we derived our facts, but only when we had to refer the reader for details to other books we gave the name and page of the book. We may state, however, that the sources on which we have drawn are all the books which speak of this subject, viz.: the Talmud itself, the books of the Gaonim, and those written on this topic in the Middle Ages, as well as the extensive literature relating to it of the last century, from Zunz, Jost, Herzfeld, Graetz, etc., to the pamphlet we have mentioned. At the conclusion of the book the reader will find an explanation of the method employed in the new edition and translation of the Talmud, and at the same time a full introduction. We made it as lucid as possible, and also endeavored to reply to some criticisms that have appeared in various periodicals since the new publication had first appeared. MICHAEL L. RODSINSON. NEW YORK, August, 1903.
# THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD CHAPTER I. THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME "TALMUD"—THE SAMARITANS—ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES—THE SADDUCEES. The name "written law" was given to the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographa, and that of "oral law" to all the teachings of the "sages" consisting of comments on the text of the Bible. The word Torah alone was applied to the entire Bible, the term "Talmud" was reserved for the oral law, though the meaning of these two words is identical; namely, "teaching" or "study." Still, because it is written Velimdo (Dent. xxxi, 19), and teach it the children of Israel (put it in their mouths; that is to say that the teacher's duty was to explain and comment on the laws and ordinances until the children understood them thoroughly and were conversant with them by heart)—the name "Talmud" was applied to what was styled by a long phrase "Oral Law" (Torah-she b'al-Peh). This word designated all the commentaries of the sages on the Scriptures which the Pharisees had begun to interpret figuratively. Figurative interpretation was inaugurated in the days of the Great Assembly when its members resolved to keep themselves distinct from the Samaritans, their inveterate enemies, who adhered to the literal interpretation of the text, which, in the opinion of the Pharisees, was falsified by them. This study, however, commenced to make progress at the time of the Sanhedrin, or from that of the Macedonian conquest of Judea, when the term "Great Assembly" was changed to the Greek "Sanhedrin." It spread into every college where were assembled sages entrusted with the guidance of congregations, with instruction of the Law, of ordinances relating to clean and unclean, to prop-
6 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
erty, to crimes. All sages who interpreted the biblical passages figuratively, unlike the Samaritans, were called "Pharisees." The Samaritans of course persecuted those Pharisees (see App. No. 1), objected to their interpretation, and did them great injury whenever they had the power. At last, Janai, Hyrcanus the First, overcame them, burned their temple, devastated their city, and compelled them by force of arms to conduct themselves according to the doctrines of the Pharisees, though he himself in his latter years became a Sadducee. Until the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, before which period all the high priests since the erection of the second temple had been of the family of Zadok, King David's high priest (see App. 2), and the priests had been also among the sages of the Pharisees and no disputes arose between them as to the interpreta- tion of the law. From the time of Antiochus, however, when the high priesthood passed from the descendants of Zadok to other families, finally coming into the possession of the Maccabees, who were not descendants of the house of Zadok, began to differ from the Pharisees in the interpretation of the Torah, and to explain the texts on the basis of oral, tradition. They founded a distinct sect, styled "Sadducees" (after Zadok), and the dispute with the Pharisees and their teaching, i.e. with the Talmud, was begun. They persecuted the Pharisees to the utmost; being mostly men of wealth and rank, and in their hearts leaning toward the Hellenes, who then held sway in Palestine, they joined the Samaritans, the foes of the Jews, whose aim was to eradicate the study of Judaism. Thus united, they gave their aid to Antiochus Epiphanes, who was anyhow the enemy of the Jews, and who decreed on the pain of capital punishment that the Pharisees should discontinue their studies, that circumcision should be performed in a manner other than that prescribed by the Pharisees (see App. No. 3); that the Sabbath should not be observed according to the interpretation of the Sabbath law by the Pharisees, etc. The obvious intention was to destroy the Talmud together with Pharisees who adhered to it. These persecutions against the Talmud ended usually in favor of the Sadducees until the time of Simon ben Shetah, and the above mentioned Janai, Hyrcanus I. (Johanan the High Priest). Then the Pharisees triumphed over their foes, and the oral law was the absorbing subject of the Sanhedrin, under the
| THE FIRST A. C. | 7
leadership of Joshuah b. Prachia, Simon b. Shetah and Jehudah b. Tabai. The Talmud was then studied in all colleges of Palestine, Egypt and wherever Jews lived. Owing to the enmity of the Samaritans and the opposition of the Sadducees, many laws and regulations were added to the Talmud of the Pharisees. From that time the Pharisees began to restrict their interpretations so as to make them agree with the deep though literal meaning of the texts, employing therein much sophistry. They counted all the letters of the Torah, and if they found a word or letter not absolutely necessary to the understanding of the text, they said it was placed there only to add to or subtract from the meaning. But at that period the Mishna was not a separate and distinct thing from the Talmud, though many ancient Mishnas already existed in writing, but without a separate title. The Pharisees studied the ancient Mishnayoth, added (see App. No. 4) to them, and explained the biblical texts. All this was entitled Oral Law, or, shortly, "Talmud." CHAPTER II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TALMUD DURING THE LAST CENTURY OF THE SECOND TEMPLE'S EXISTENCE (i.e. THE FIRST A.C.) SHEMAIA—ABTALIAN—HILLEL—SHAMMAI—THE PRINCES (NASIS) OF ISRAEL—R. JOHANAN B. ZAKKAI—SANHEDRIN OF JAMNIA—THE JEWISH CHRISTIANS. After the triumph of Simon b. Shetah over the Sadducees, when he had finally cleared the Sanhedrin of them, and only the Pharisees remained there, the development of the Talmud pro gressed rapidly, for the number of the sages, the adherents, reverers, sanctifiers of the Talmud, increased greatly in the colleges of the Ashkaloth (Duumviri) who succeeded to ben Shetah: Shemaia and Abtalian, and, after them, Hillel and Shammai. And although at that time new enemies arose, in the Boethuseans, Essenes, and many other sects who were opposed to its particular doctrines, yet those had not the power to check its progress or to weaken its influence-not only on all Israelites, wherever they dwelt, but also on many Gentiles: for at that time we see that prominent persons of other nations (App. No. 5) come to the chief men of Israel and express their wish to
8 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
adopt Judaism. Hillel the Elder received them with open arms. Helen the Queen, and her son, Isotis, also accepted the creed of the Talmud. All this was due to the fact that its morality came at this time to be before the world. The Polytheists began to perceive the great difference between the teaching of their priests in the names of the gods, and the Torah as explained by its sages. From all places of the world came persons to learn the doctrines and the morality of the Talmud. This period of good fortune, however, was only of short duration, as the time of the destruction of the Temple was nigh, and with it the victims of the sword and of hunger were many. Among these were the great sages who bore the banner of the Talmud, and their wisdom died with them. The Sanhedrin had been forced, while the Temple was still in existence, to transfer their meeting places from the "marble hall" to the "shops." Rabban Gamaliel the Elder, the son of Hillel the Prince (Nasi) was persecuted by them, and his son Simeon was slain, together with many sages. Thus, if R. Johanan b. Zakkai had not, risking his life, petitioned Vespasian to spare the Sanhedrin, who had been compelled during the tumults at Jerusalem to move with their college to Jamnia, there would have remained no vestige of the Talmud, since most of those who cherished it had passed away by the sword, by hunger and by the plague. Besides, the disciples of Jesus (see App. No. 6), who then believed in his Messiahship, but not in his divinity, began secretly to undermine the Talmud, which laid more stress on external ceremonies than they deemed necessary, and endeavored with all their might to weaken its influence among the populace, but R. Jehanan b. Zakkai and the Sanhedrin in Jamnia, with Rabban Gamaliel, the son of the slain Simeon, at their head, restored the Talmud to its prestige, and took pains to raise up others in the places of the murdered sages. Thus the study of the Talmud flourished after the destruction of the Temple, although beset with great difficulties and desperate struggles. All his days, R. Johanan b. Zakkai was obliged to dispute with Sadducees and Bathueians and, no doubt, with the Messiahists also; for although these last were Pharisees, they differed in many points from the teaching of the Talmud after their master, Jesus, had broken with the Phari-
| THE FIRST A. C. | 9
sees and their doctrines in public. So R. Johanan b. Zakkai was obliged to introduce many reforms; and Rabban Gamaliel of Jamnia, notwithstanding his office of Nasi, and his lofty bearing towards his colleagues and adversaries, was compelled to go many times to Rome to ask for mercy for his college and the Pharisaic sages. And this first Nasi, after the Temple's destruction, also had to witness the evil consequences of quarrels in the midst of his own nation, added to the calamities from without. As the interpretations of every letter and vowel point of the written law had multiplied, and liberty had been given to every learned man to construe biblical texts at his pleasure, the differences of opinion multiplied, and the disciples of Shammai and Hillel, whose master's characters differed to the utmost, split into two factions and studied in separate colleges. Thus the teaching of the Talmud was differently interpreted by two parties, and what the one permitted, the other forbade. This circumstance was of more danger to the Talmud than any external foe, for when there is no internal union, the whole fabric will go to pieces, and its influence will, of course, diminish. Therefore the sages of Jamnia, with R. Gamaliel at their head, strove not only to decide the law according to the school of Hillel, but also to decree that the words of Shammai's school in the place of Hillel's had no value at all. And what a world of difficulty the sages had to surmount before they succeeded! R. Simeon ben Gamaliel rightly says "If we proceeded to record all the troubles and calamities we had endured, time would not suffice." But in the long run they did succeed in widening and increasing the sphere of influence of the Talmud, for both the internal dissensions,and external opposition only tended to sink more deeply into the hearts of the people its doctrines (Halakhas), legends (Hagadas) and morals. At the end of the first century it was to them a substitute for their destroyed Temple; it was their stronghold, their entertainment by day and by night. It was only when they were occupied with it that they forgot all the calamities past and present; it was the sole bond which kept together the scattered colonies of Israelites, which strengthened them to bear the yoke of the Romans, to hope for brighter days, to be patient unto the end.
10 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
CHAPTER III. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE—THE FALL OF BETHEL—THE MASSACRE OF THE SAGES OF THE TALMUD, TILL THE WRITING OF THE MISHNA IN THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD CENTURY. The Temple had been destroyed; Rabban Gamahel and many of his colleagues were dead; the family of the Nasi extirpated, excepting only his son R. Simeon, who succeeded to his father as Nasi and established a college at Usha; and new persecutions, awful in their extent, were directed against those who were engaged in the compilation of the Talmud. The sages, the chief men of Israel, were slaughtered without pity by Trajan and his successors through the entire period of fifty-two years from the destruction of the Temple to the fall of Bethel. Some of these founders of the Talmud who forfeited their lives for its sake are known to us only by their names: R. Ishmael, Simeon b. Azai, Papus b. Jehudah, Yishbab the Scribe, Huzpeth the Dragoman (interpreter), Jehudah the Baker, Hananiah b. Tradion and Aqiba ; the last, the main pillar of the Talmud, and who contributed much to its diffusion and completion, died with joy at being enabled to sacrifice his life for it. One of the causes of the great revolt against the Romans at this time was the prohibition by the Roman government of the study of the Torah, wherein alone the Jews found comfort, since only in their houses of learning could they enjoy complete peace and freedom. But as the death penalty had been decreed against all who occupied themselves with religious study and observed its precepts, and as this prohibition deprived them of their only source of consolation, they rebelled, led by Bar Kochba. R. Aqiba was the first to become his adherent, who journeyed from town to town, inciting the Israelites to rebel, and bringing them the message that a saviour of Israel had arisen in Bar Kochba, the Messiah. It is not surprising, therefore, that Hadrian, when he had ascended to the throne, was not content barely with the massacre of the sages of the Talmud, but was intent also on the destruction of the Talmud itself. Unable to find a pretext for killing all the sages who kept it up, he decreed that if any of the old rabbis should
| THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD CENTURY. | 11
qualify a young rabbi for Israel, both should be put to death, and the place in which such took place should be destroyed, believing that with the death of the elder generation the Talmud would be forgotten and Israel would blend with the nations and its memory be obliterated; because he very well knew that as long as the Talmud existed there was little hope for the assimilation of the Jews with other nations. This decree, however, was not executed, and his murderous plan was further frustrated by R. Jehudah b. Baba, who, forewarned of the decree and comprehending its consequences, betook himself to a place between two great mountains between Usha and Shprehem and licensed six of the older men of R. Aqiba's disciples to be rabbis (i.e., teachers of the Talmud) : R. Meir, R. Jehudah b. Elai, R. Jose b. Halaphta, R. Simeon b. Jochai, R. Eleazar b. Shemua, and R. Nehemiah. Having done this, and feeling sure that as long as these men lived the Talmud would be kept alive, he thus addressed them: "Fly, my sons, and hide from the wrath of the enemy. I alone will remain, and will offer my body to,their vengeance." And in fact the Romans pierced his bodyy with three hundred iron lances, so that it resembled a sieve; but the newly consecrated rabbis were saved, and with them the Talmud. (See Sanhedrin, p. 30.) Thus the efforts of Hadrian met with no success, so that at last he said to himself: "Great is the sheep that stands among seventy wolves." He saw the Talmud still existing, bringing to naught his plan for converting the Jews, uniting Israel into one people, and establishing it still more firmly as a national and a religious whole. For the six rabbis named above very soon became the soul of Talmudic study; some of them were with R. Simeon, the Nasi, in Shprehem, and others founded colleges of their own. Through them the Talmud regained its former power and influence, and one of them, R. Ilai, became the chief teacher of R. Jehudah the Nasi, the compiler of the Mishna. The translation of the Bible (written law) into Greek also contributed very much to the popularization of the Talmud. As long as the Torah was in the sacred language only (for the Aramaic version of the time of Ezra had been concealed or destroyed as early as the time of Rabban Gamaliel the Elder, the son of Simeon who had been slain, or probably even during the
12 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
life of the latter),* all Jewish sects and foreign scholars interpreted it in their own way. But a wise Greek, a convert of Judaism, Aquila the Proselyte, who received the doctrines of the Talmud from the disciples of R. Johanan b. Zakkai and also from R. Aqiba, translated the Bible into Greek. This version was not acceptable to the Jewish believers in Jesus (Messianists)-who must already at that period have constituted a large sect-because their construction of many passages in the Messianic spirit was flatly disregarded by the new translation; nor to the Romans, because all expressions seeming to imply the materiality of the Deity were translated in a figurative senseas for example, "the hand of the Lord" ; "the glory of the Lord," which the statue-worshipping Romans could not endure with equanimity, and further because by this translation the nature and doctrines of the Talmud became known to many nations, who found no evil in it. In our opinion the version of Aquila was the sole cause of the despatch of censors from Rome to revise the Talmud, and these censors avowed that its teaching was true. Be it as it may, in studying the history of the Talmud during the first three centuries the reader is easily convinced of the great courage and patience of the sages of the Talmud. For no year of that .period passed without trouble from its external as well as from its internal foes, as R. Simeon b. Gamaliel, the Nasi of Jamnia, himself testifies. (See above, p. q.) For even after the death of Hadrian it enjoyed but a short respite, for Antoninus Pius renewed the decree of Hadrian, and only with much trouble and at great risk of his life did the Nasi succeed in inducing R. Simeon b. Jochai and R. Josi to go with him to Rome to petition the Caesar to repeal the decree, which, according to the tradition of the Talmud, they effected only through the intervention of "Ben Temalion" (a demon, according to some; a man, according to others). And yet, in spite of this, during this very period, the Talmud became so popular that every town wherein Jews had their habitation possessed also a house of learning for the study of the Talmud; so that everywhere it bloomed and flourished, and bore the fruit of the Mishna, as we shall see in the next chapter. * See our "Pentateuch, its Languages and Characters," pp. 16-17
| THE MISHNAS. | 13
CHAPTER IV. THE THIRD CENTURY—THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE MISHNAS—THE TALMUDIC COLLEGES OF PALESTINE AND BABYLONIA. The sages, the commentators of the Talmud, differed in opinion as to the epoch when the Talmud began to be written down. The scholars of Spain, and their colleagues and disci ples, said that it had been recorded from notes possessed since schools had begun in Israel, a long time before R. Jehudah the Nasi. The scholars of France, among them "Rashi," however, declared that not a line was written till the completion of the Talmud, before which its study had been oral. Each school adduced proofs in behalf of its assertion. Modern scholars have made a compromise between these various versions, by asserting that during the first centuries the commentators of the Talmud in the beginning had taken notes of their studies, and later had written them out in a permanent form. It would seem that as the persecutions had at their commencement been very severe, and the sages (see App. No. 7) felt that their lives were in peril, they decided to write its teaching in secret and to conceal it from its foes. No sooner had the Pharisees granted permission for this (for till then it was absolutely forbidden to put in writing oral law) than the number of manuscripts became very great; and when R. Jehudah the Nasi came to occupy the seat of his father and had been confirmed in authority (since he enjoyed the friendship of one Antonius, who was in power at Rome), he discovered that from the multitude of the trees the forest could not be seen; that is, from the multitude of the Mishnas the people had lost sight of the Talmud. He therefore resolved to compile, selecting out of all the written and the unwritten law, clear Mishnayoth, and to systematize them. Indeed, the period was very favorable to this undertaking, for the Talmud enjoyed a respite from persecutors external and internal. The Jewish followers of the Messiah, Jesus, began at this time to gradually blend with the foreigners who adopted the new creed; hence their influence on their brethren who persisted in the old faith was weakened. Still he met with many obstacles. The chief one was the division of opinion among the students of the Talmud themselves. For although his grand-
14 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
father, Rabban Gamaliel the Elder, had succeeded in fixing the law in accordance with Hillel's school, and declared, with the consent of many of the sages of the Talmud, the school of Shammai of no validity when at variance with Hillel's, still the decree was weakened, when later he was deposed for a short time from his office of Nasi, and in his college were assembled four hundred students more, of diverse opinions. In view of this, and it was decided again that individual opinions, even those of the minority, should be considered, the differences between the students and the sages of his college were renewed with greater vigor. This state of things continued till the time of Rabbi, and in order that his Mishnayoth might be accepted he was compelled to give due weight to all the varying opinions, slighting none, even of those who were in direct contravention of the decision. The second difficulty was in selecting, from among the mass of incongruous doctrines and laws-many of which had become obsolete, and others found to be unnecessary or impracticable those which were both practicable and of direct application (for a tradition relates that Rabbi found six hundred sections of Mishnayoth ; and even if we admit that this number is greatly exaggerated, still if even one hundred existed, it was no light task to reduce them to six). The third difficulty was that as the subject had been studied in divers places, differing in dialect or language, all the Mishnayoth had to be made uniform in their dialect. Added to all this, he was forced to clear the Mishnayoth from the insertions incorporated into it by the Messianists; for being many and considerable persons, and in close alliance with their colleagues the Pharisees during two centuries, they could not have failed to introduce into the Mishnayoth their own peculiar opinion and beliefs, many such passages, indeed, being found in the Gemara. Reason compels us to admit, at least, that there were passages in the Mishnayoth concerning Jesus and his teachings; for how is it possible that an occurrence which holds so important a place in the history of Israel, and which has spread its influence among the nations for centuries, should not be even hinted at in the Mishnayoth? We must, therefore, conclude that Rabbi thought it well to clear the Mishnayoth of any reference
| THE SUBJECTS OF ITS SECTIONS. | 15
to the occurrence itself, as well as to the adherents of the new faith. In this he acted wisely, for he knew beforehand that the Mishnayoth would be the foundation upon which Judaism and the Talmud should be built, and that the interpretations of it would be many, each interpreter following the bias of his mind. Therefore it was deemed best by him to avoid all mention of the new event, to treat it as though it had no existence. Nothing can withstand a strong will. When once he had resolved to carry out his project at any cost, all difficulties vanished. He went from college to college, in cities far and near, in places where the great masters taught and learned; and though they "surrounded him as cocks of Beth Bukia," he was not shaken in his resolution, and with the help of his many friends and sympathizers he was finally enabled to arrange in order six sections of Mishnayoth, condensed from hundreds. Each section is given up to a general subject, and is subdivided into tracts dealing with matters which come naturally within the scope of the section. The tracts are further divided into chapters. The subjects of the sections and the tracts are as follows: 1. 'The Section of Seeds.—The general subject of this section is the law relating to vegetables, heave offerings, tithes, the sabbatical year, Kilaim, etc. ; and at the head of this section he placed the tract on benedictions which man owes to his Maker every morning, beginning with those of the evening, which commences the day according to the Jewish custom. 2. The Section of Festivals.—This treats of the Sabbath holidays (to each holiday being devoted a separate tract), and incidentally also of the duty of taxes before the holidays, and of mourning during the festivals. (See App. No. 8.) 3. The Section of Women.—This deals with laws having reference to women, marriage, divorce, in separate tracts, and thereto are added laws concerning vows and Nazarites, as women's vows are dependent on the decision of their fathers and husbands, and Nazarites depend on women, who may legally consecrate the child previous to its birth, as for example, Hannah and the mother of Samson. 4. The Section of Damages.—This section treats of laws of property, of the judges, of the penalties which the court may prescribe, and is divided into the tracts " Sanhedrin," " Penal-
16 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
ties" (Makkoth), etc.; but as the first part treats only of damages and their prevention, it is divided simply into three parts without distinct titles: but as first, second and third Geths, and as it treats of damages for which men are responsible, a tract on morals has been added— "Abboth." (Sections "Festivals and jurisprudence" have been already translated into English by us in eighteen volumes; the synopsis of which will be here appendixed.) 5. The Section of Sacred Things (sacrifices), divided into tracts on sacrifices (Zebachim) firstlings (Bekhoroth), and by the way also Chulin; it treats of slaughtering, and examination of the slaughtered animal used for profane purposes. 6. The Section of Purifications (Tohoroth).—This deals with the subject of defilements and purifications in general, and has for special topics the defilement of vessels (Kelim), of plagues (Nega'im), of tents (Aholoth), etc., and a tract relating to a Nidah (menstruated woman). Thus he arranged all the laws relating to the Hebrew religion and to civil matters, and called his entire work Mishnayoth (Mishna), i.e. meaning "teaching" to distinguish it from "Torah" and "Talmud," and probably because it is written (Deut. vi. 7) V'shinantam—"and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children"—in the original version (Mishna Tohroh), which signifies really to explain and comment upon it. Thus the Mishna is an explanation of and a comment upon the Pentateuch (see footnote for a different explanation, in the introduction to "Sabbath"), and teaches men how to conduct themselves in relation to their fellow-men, and incites them to all good and praiseworthy (actions). In the short introduction to "Sabbath" (vi.-vii.) we have already described briefly the character of the Mishnayoth which Rabbi arranged, and how he succeeded in imparting to it the sanctity of the Pentateuch itself, so that nothing is to be added to them, and what was done later after Rabbi's death, is not the place to expatiate on this subject; we may, however, state briefly that as soon as the Mishnayoth was completed, colleges were founded in Palestine and Babylonia to explain the meaning of the Mishnayoth and develop their laws to their ultimate consequences. After Rabbi's death, when Boraithoth and Toseptheth were discovered which did not form part of his
| THE GEMARA. | 17
compilation and which in many places contradicted the Mishnayoth, these colleges busied themselves in reconciling them with the Mishnayoth and with each other. They accounted for contradictions in Baraithoth by saying that one spoke of a case under same circumstances, while another meant a like case under different circumstances. So they explained the differences in the Mishnayoth themselves, often dividing a Mishna, whose parts seemed to contradict each other, and giving as explanation of the contradictions that the first part was according to one tana, but the latter part according to another. These discussions and comments on the Mishna they called "Gemara," which also signifies "teaching" in Aramaic, which was the spoken language of the sages of the Gemara (see in the above-mentioned introduction for a different reason), and to the combined Mishnayoth and Gemara they gave the old name, "Talmud." CHAPTER V. THE TALMUD OF JERUSALEM, THE TALMUD OF BABYLONIA, THE CHARACTER OF THEIR HALAKHA AND HAGADA, THE DATES OF THEIR COMPLETION AND THEIR SYSTEMATIZATION. The sages of the Gemara, called Amaraim, and the commentators of Mishnayoth were of different characters. Some were intent only on diligently collecting Mishnayoth and Baraithoth, wherever found, to compare them with each other, to correct their reading in conformity with Rabbi's Mishnayoth, and to separate the wheat from the chaff, i.e. to decide which Boraithoth was valid and which was not worthy of consideration (Boraithoth which were not studied in the colleges of R. Hyya and R. Ushia were not considered). On the other hand, there were others who devoted themselves to ingenious construction of the Mishnayoth and the Boraithoth itself, without adducing proofs from elsewhere. (See App. No. q.) This consisted in scrupulously examining the letters in the Mishna, to eliminate or to amplify it where they judged necessary, to trace laws to their origin and to discover what tana agreed with this Mishna and what differed from it, whether the same tana contradicted. himself at different places, and whether it was incom-
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patible to explain them in various ways, and the like. In the language of the Gemara they are distinguished by different titles. Those who studied the Mishnayoth were styled "Sinai, the master of the wheat," and the dialecticians "the uprooters of mountains" or "acute men"; and although the preference was given to the former, as it was said, "all must resort to the master of the wheat," yet the study of the Babylonian Talmudists being based on scholasticism, their acuteness is evinced in their so harmonizing the contradictions and disagreements, that they appear to point to the same meaning. Not only did they interpret the Boraithas at variance with the Mishnayoth, but when even one of the great Amoraim appeared to differ from the Mishna they so distorted the latter that it should seem to agree with the Amora. A similar difference existed among the authors of the Hagada; some gave to biblical texts a new reading remote from the plain meaning, interpreting them in strange and marvellous ways, and basing on them legends of natural impossibilities, while some adhered closely to the literal meaning of texts, without adorning them with exaggerations. Though in the Palestinian and the Syrian, as well as in the Babylonian colleges, there were many scholars who assisted each other in their studies and comments on the Mishnayoth, the Palestinian differed from those of Babylon in this respect, that in the former the chief labor consisted in the collection of Halakhas, without profound researches into the deeper meanings and implications, even in the study of the mere Mishnayoth, all of which was totally unlike the manner of study in the Babylonian schools. Indeed, the Palestinians were inferior to the Babylonians in scholastic profundity and ingenuity, and but few of them distinguished themselves therein, except R. Johanan, R. Simeon b. Lakish, and several others of that period. Therefore, in the schools of Palestine, scholasticism was esteemed of little value, and in them the study of Halakhas fell into decay, so that finally the Hagada came to occupy the principal place, the Halakhas holding a subordinate position. In addition to this, they found themselves compelled to give their attention to the biblical texts, as the Messianists, who had grown in numbers, construed these texts favorably to Christianity, and challenged the Jews to dispute with them. Therefore, the sages found themselves obliged to give the preference
| HALAKHA AND HAGADA. | 19
to the study of the Scriptures and Hagada. As at that time the impression was general that the most important element in the study of the Torah is ingenious reasoning on Halakha, it is not surprising that the Babylonian Talmud came to be received as the important and essential part of the Oral Law, while that of Palestine held a subordinate position. It is difficult to describe accurately and clearly the mode of thinking and ways of reasoning of the Talmud, which in truth is known only to one who has made it the study of his life. It is easier, however, to give a picture of the Talmudists' views and notions as gathered from the Hagada. In this respect the Hagada of the Palestinian Talmud is superior to that of Babylon, as it had its birth in Palestine, and was borrowed thence by the Babylonians. Many books of Hagada had existed in Palestine, whose contents were incorporated later in various Midrashim, and some also in the Talmud, and even at that period there was a differ ence of opinion as to their value. Some valued them, and some despised them. The Hagadas consist of two elements : first, the external garment of the thought, the tradition, and secondly, the internal idea, allegorically shadowed forth, which constitutes literary value. The latter can be divided into three kinds: "P'shat," the interpretation of the meaning of biblical words; "Drash," a free untrammelled interpretation of the scriptural texts; "Sod," the deep mystic, religious meanings construed from the texts. By these three kinds of construction of Scripture, all subjects, topics and times are embraced and discussed. The Hagada, with its mystic and veiled religious wisdom, has exercised a great influence in the Oriental and heathen world, which has borrowed from it many precious gems of profound religious thought having Palestine for their birthplace. And indeed we find that the multitude of legends based on the Bible which have been current in, and reverenced by, the Mohammedan world for twelve hundred years, delighting both sages and the unlearned, are to be found in the Tal- mudic Hagada. Whether entire or only in the leading idea, their identity is recognizable. Many also of the legends of the Middle Ages to be found in the works of Dante, or those of Boccaccio, Cervantes, and Milton, are taken, consciously or unconsciously, from their original source, the Talmudic Hagada.
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The Fathers of the Christian church have likewise drawn on it, as Basilius of Cappadocia, Hieronymus, Chrysostomus, and many others who construed passages in the Bible in accordance with the Hagada. The moral code contained in the Hagada, teaches man how to conduct himself toward all men and in all situations of life. We shall deal with this moral law in a future chapter on the Ethics of the Talmud. The two Talmuds contain, then, Halakhas, Hagadas, references to all branches of science known in those days, but without any system or order. Many times a Hagada is interpolated in the middle of a Halakha, and again in like manner a digression on a scientific subject extraneous to the Halakha is inserted in it. The compiler of the Talmud, whether from careless method or from the great labor involved, could introduce no order. In this respect there is little difference between the two Talmuds ; nor is there much difference in the sources whence each drew its material. Sayings from the Talmud of Palestine are quoted in that of Babylonia, sometimes under the name of their author or their citer in Babylonia; other passages are stated to emanate from the "West." "In the West (Palestine) it was said." In the Talmud Palestinian, similarly (vide I. H. Weiss, Vol. III., 127, etc.), the Babylonian authority is often given; e.g.,"There they learn" or "say." It is clear however that when the Babylonian Talmud was compiled that of Palestine was unknown to its compilers, although, according to the opinion of many, the Talmud of Palestine was arranged by R. Johanan and concluded by R. Jose bar Bun about one hundred years before the Babylonian; others, however, affirm that the Talmud of Palestine was concluded only in the eighth century or even as late as the ninth (in the time of Anan, the founder of the Karaite sect), and adduce evidence in substantiation. We may assume, as a compromise, both assertions to be true; the greater part had indeed been arranged and systematized in the time of Hillel, the last of the Nasis in the West, but it was not employed to any extent in the colleges remaining in Palestine and Syria, because the Babylonian Talmud had spread until it reached the West. But in the time of the Karaites many things were added to the Talmud of Palestine (to oppose the doctrines of the Karaites, as the small tract on Tephilin and the like, which that sect repudiated) by those who wished their
20 | THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. |
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