Lecture 10-Jewish Law Notes

Shulchan Aruch

• Authored by Rabbi Yosef Karo.

• Also known as Beit Yosef.

Ashkenaz Jews

• Located in Christian Europe, initially France and Germany.

• Later migrated eastward due to persecution.

• Experienced less intellectual freedom, including:

  • No philosophy allowed.

  • Heresy laws.

• Faced antisemitism:

  • Crusades.

  • Accusation of collective responsibility for the death of Jesus.

  • Blood Libel.

  • Forced conversion.

  • Supersessionism.

Cultural Clash

• Rabbenu Gershom (Me’or Hagolah):

  • Born 960-1028 in Mainz, Germany.

  • Instituted laws departing from Babylonian academies:

    • Ban on unilateral divorce.

    • Banned Polygamy.

    • Return of apostates.

  • Rashi stated that "all members of the Ashkenazi diaspora are students of his."

Rashi

• Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki):

  • Lived 1040-1105 in France.

  • Student of Rabbeinu Gershom.

  • Commented on almost every page of Tanakh and Talmud.

    • His commentaries have been printed in every edition of the Talmud since the 15th century.

  • Democratized Talmudic scholarship by enabling individuals to master a tractate without needing to travel to a Talmudic academy.

  • Expanded the range of knowledge for most scholars.

  • Haym Soloveitchik notes the lifelong study of the Talmud and the acquisition of knowledge was a consequence of Rashi’s work.

  • Authored Responsa.

Rashi’s Responsa

• Addressed the marriage of a young woman who, along with her groom and witnesses, had been forced to convert to Christianity.

• The question was whether this was a Halachic wedding, requiring a bill of divorce before remarriage.

• Rashi's opinion: the woman must receive a bill of divorce before marrying another man, as the marriage of a Jew, even one who has willingly abandoned Judaism, is still valid.

• Cites Joshua 7:11, "Israel has sinned," and Talmud (Sanhedrin 44a) to support the view that even converts remain part of the Jewish people.

• This is even more true for those forcibly converted, as their hearts remained faithful to God.

• Their return to Judaism reflects their true beliefs.

• Even if witnesses lived less observant lives and adopted foreign ways, their testimony regarding the marriage is not invalidated.

Tosafot

• Tosafot (lit. Additions):

  • Rabbinic scholars in 12th-13th centuries Northern France and Germany.

  • Students and descendants of Rashi.

  • Did Talmud to the Talmud, i.e. dialectical analysis.

    • Finds contradiction between law a and b and comes up with principle c.

  • Greatly expanded the Talmudic tradition.

  • Aryeh Leibowitz describes the Tosafists' dialectic analysis and distinctions as "immortal accomplishments."

Talmud Pesachim page 99a

• On the day before Passover night, one may not eat after afternoon to be able to eat Matzah later with appetite.

• Tosafot raises a contradiction:

  • Pesachim page 40a says one may eat on Passover night before Matzah if they eat Matzah afterward!

  • Tosafot reconciles the contradiction by stating that earlier in the day, a person will not be careful to keep some appetite, but at night, closer to the time of eating Matzah, they will keep some appetite.

Ashkenaz Jews (Practices)

• Generally seen as more Jewishly pious and legally stringent than Sefardic Jews.

• Halacha was seen as central to life.

• Rejection of outside philosophy.

• Halacha was an end to itself.

  • Contrast to Maimonides where law was means to an end.

• Law as dialogue and ongoing.

  • Contrast to the legal codes of Sefarad where law was monologue/reduced to codes.

• New rules and stringencies developed, such as:

  • New laws of kosher (Basear v’ Cholov).

  • Kitniyot on Passover.

  • Family purity laws.

Martyrdom

• First Crusade in 1096.

  • Rhineland Massacres.

  • Several thousands of Jews killed along the way.

• Forced conversions.

• Collective suicides.

  • The Mainz Chronicle describes how the "pure ones of the Most High girded themselves with strength and slew their sons and daughters…to sanctify the Unique Name."

• Articles for next Tuesday:

  • Comparing views between Maimonides and Rashi.

  • Tosafot’s dialectical legal analysis including viewing majority action as representative of law - Is this allowed according to Jewish Law?

Kabbalah

• Zohar (Radiance):

  • Late 13th century Northern (Christian) Spain.

  • Moses de Leon.

  • Fusion of Ashkenazi and Sefardic philosophy.

  • Law is central but also underpinned by “philosophy”.

  • God is infinite but also finite (paradox).

  • Panantheism.

  • Sefirot.

  • Brokenness of God.

• Isaac Luria (AriZal) 16th century Israel.

  • Divine contraction.

  • Breaking of the vessels.

  • Repairing the world (Tikkun Olam).

The Zohar

• 13th century Northern Spain.

• Central Kabbalistic Text (though not technically the first)!

• Ein Sof - God as infinity.

  • Relate to Maimonides.

• Duality of God:

  • GOD - ineffable.

  • God within creation.

• Panentheistic:

  • God is both beyond and within creation.

• God - or characteristics of God - are tangible, approachable, and interactive!

• Re-emergence of mythos.

• Sefirot - divine emanations.

• Male and Female parts of God.

• Theurgic:

  • Human action restores cosmic balance.

• God as dynamic. Not being but becoming.

AriZal - Breaking of Vessels and the Repair

• At the beginning of time, God’s presence filled the universe. When God decided to bring this world into being, to make room for creation, He first drew in His breath, contracting Himself. From that contraction darkness was created. And when God said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3), the light that came into being filled the darkness, and ten holy vessels came forth, each filled with primordial light. In this way God sent forth those ten vessels, like a fleet of ships, each carrying its cargo of light. Had they all arrived intact, the world would have been perfect. But the vessels were too fragile to contain such a powerful, divine light. They broke open, split asunder, and all the holy sparks were scattered like sand, like seeds, like stars. Those sparks fell everywhere, but more fell on the Holy Land than anywhere else. That is why we were created — to gather the sparks, no matter where they are hidden. God created the world so that the descendents of Jacob could raise up the holy sparks. That is why there have been so many exiles — to release the holy sparks from the servitude of captivity. In this way the Jewish people will sift all the holy sparks from the four corners of the earth. And when enough holy sparks have been gathered, the broken vessels will be restored, and tikkun olam, the repair of the world, awaited so long, will finally be complete. Therefore it should be the aim of everyone to raise these sparks from wherever they are imprisoned and to elevate them to holiness by the power of their soul.

Mitzvot in the Zohar

• Theurgic

• The world is a reflection of God

• Panantheism

• The world is broken therefore God is broken

• Humans must repair both the world and God by restoring balance

• Balance is first restored in the self via Mitzvot

• Then balance is restored in God (the world)

Sefardic Jews and Halacha

• A focus on codification.

• Instead of debates within the law - a focus on underpinnings of law.

• Reasons for the Mitzvot (Taimai haMitzvot).

• Traditional, Rational, Mystical.