Halakhah Has Been in Existence through Numerous Jewish Generations - Essay Example

Key Words: Hallakha, Muslims, Jews, Christianity, Golden Age, Roman Empire, Liturgy, Christianity, Jewish, History of Jews 1. Halakhah Halakhah has been in existence through numerous Jewish generations since 500 BC. Ideally, Hallakha originates from three diverse sources, which are the Torah, laws instituted by rabbis and from long-standing customs in Judaism (Jobani). From any of the three sources, Halakhah plays the role of a “mitzvah”, which is a commandment in Judaism. In addition, Mitzvah may also be any good deed done by a Jew to a fellow Jew in a casual manner. In ancient times, Halakhah served diverse Jewish people as an implementable law meant for civil aspects besides religious observance. The term Halakhah appears in “Jewish law” although in a more literal manner whereby the translation of the term is “the path that one walks (Jobani).” Primarily, Hallakha forms a body of obscure judicial opinions, legislation, and customs many of them passed down over many centuries. Halkhah generally constitutes the complete body and practices that bind Jews including Biblical commandments, those of the rabbis as well as customs, which they ought to follow. Halakha does not only refer to religious practices and beliefs of Jews but also their way of life. It covers what Jews claim is the best way for a Jew to live according to what scriptures from the Holy bible dictates (Jobani). However, development and application of laws is by varied authorities instead of one supreme authority, hence prompting different communities applying them differently compared to others. 2. 70 CE It is a vital era in the Jewish community that saw the peak of the great revolt of 66 to 70 CE and commencement of the three major rebellions conducted by Jews against Romans. This was due to Roman subduing Israeli in 63 B.C.E, Which made life extremely difficult for Jews. The latter was due to three major reasons including taxes, Roman intolerable control over the high priest position and general treatment of Jews by Romans. In addition, differences between Jewish believe in one supreme God and pagan Greco-Roman world was at the heart of all disagreements because it aroused tension between the two groups. Under Roman, rule taxation became a troubling issue to the Jews. Roman governors who had the responsibility for collecting tax revenues in Israel in most cases hike taxes paid by every individual pocketing the surplus money. Besides, governors did all this in the knowledge of Roman law, which allowed the vice, hence Jews had no one to complain to in such occasions. In addition, under Roman rule they decided who held the post of High priest even though; traditionally Jews appointed the candidate. Consequently, Romans only appointed people who appeared not in good terms with Jews in order to frustrate the Jews. The menace happened even when the Roman Emperor knew how important the high priest was to Jews because he represented them during holy days. The Roman Emperor Caligula took over authority in the year 39 C.E where he cited he was almost to a god. Additionally, he ordered soldiers to erect statues of his image in every place of worship within his jurisdiction including the Temple. Since idolatry was against Jewish beliefs who the latter in turn refuted to place the statue of a pagan god in the Temple. In response Caligula threatened to destroy the Temple altogether, but before the Emperor could execute his threat, members of the Praetorian Guard ended up terminating him. The Great Revolt commenced in year 66 whereby Jews subdued Romans who during then had their main settling area in Jerusalem. The Siege of Jerusalem during 70 AD was the greatest event of the entire First Jewish-Roman combat whereby Roman army managed to subdue their enemies besides taking advantage of their area. 3. The “Golden age” of Jews in Spain According to scholars’ studies, there is no precise evidence of the length of this “Golden Age of Jews in Spain” period. Some say it either occurred in711-718 after the Muslim conquest of Iberia or to 912 during the rule of Abd-ar-Rahman 111 (Reuven 68). Some Jews deem that they lived in Spain since the era of King Solomon which is 965-930 B.C.E .However, there is little evidence and information of these Jews until the beginning of the first century. The period is also referred to as Golden Age of Arab (Reuven 69). It mainly refers to a period in history in which the Muslim of Iberia peninsula embraced Jews in the society as well as their creed, way of life and economy (Reuven 69). The period entailed Jews not only moving freely but also feeling part of the society they settled. The “Golden Age” era was significant to Jews because they shared majorly the affluence of Muslim Iberia during their political unrest. Jews who were mainly in Granada, earned their livelihood by distributing sugarcane and cotton. In addition, they engaged in exporting marble, gold, silver, iron and copper. Besides, Granada also settled in Cordoba, Lucena and Seville. During periods of civil instability, many Jews migrated northward to the Christian kingdoms of Asturias, Leon, Castile, Navarre and Coimbra (Jobani). Wherever they settled, persisted to follow their own customs, statutes as well as ways of living deemed were right. For them, within that limited world, the synagogue functioned as their communal gathering place (Jobani). There were many of them, ranging from public synagogues to those built by craftsmen and even clandestine synagogues for the wealthy residents Cordoba and Granada whereby each of them comprised of either five or six thousand Jews known to maintain many of them. 4. Anti-Judaism This is the state of people or a certain religion being totally against Judaism and their beliefs as well as way of life (Willits). There are mainly people who consider certain Judaic beliefs and practices as inferior (Willits). Anti-Judaism usually has its basis in religious beliefs and practices often distinguished from anti-Semitism, which follows racial or ethnic prejudice. Often, anti Judaism movements and policies emanate from other different religions like Islam or Christians conducting anti-Judaism movements (Jobani). From ancient times, Christianity originated in the 1st century as a group from Judaism known as Jewish Christianity (Jobani). From this, Christians had various things in common with Jews like monotheism as dictated by Jewish scriptures, morality and liturgy. However, they separated because Christians questioned the continued use of Mosaic laws; the Torah. The reason behind their conflict was after the coming of Jesus, people ought to follow the new covenant and abandon Laws of mosses. Circumcision controversy was also a second issue in which there was a disagreement on how it ought to take place (Jobani). During then those who argued by use of Biblical law decided to embrace fully the aspect of circumcision who since then to date known by the name “Pharisees or Judaizers” (Willits). For example, in Galatians St Paul is arguing with St Peter about how gentile converts should follow Jesus, he accuses the latter wanting the gentiles to “Judaise” (2.14). Paul explains this by saying “Judaising,” implies giving more importance to the flesh rather than spiritual growth. These are critical ideologies of “Judaism” in Christianity as well as Islam, which made it such basic concepts in cultures embraced by their respective traditions. Anti-Judaism in ancient times was a means of differentiating the good and bad in reference to biblical scriptures. The concept of anti-Judaism brings anti-Semitism in question, which was widely propelled by Martin Luther King. However, between the two, there exist some differences. For instance, Anti-Semitism entails Jews to conduct persecution where necessary while anti-Judaism in most cases took place without Jews involved because it targeted an idea (Willits). In a bid to distinguish Jews’ religion from that practiced by Abraham, Quran mentions the incident of worshiping of the calf. It further argues Jews do not believe in part of the revelation given to them, which proves their hypocritical nature and disobedience to God. Part B. 1. How did the experience of living among Muslims under Islamic rule shape near Eastern Jewish culture? Demographically, destruction of the once rich Jewish communities in Muslim states has made it easy to forget that most Jews once lived among Muslim communities. Few acts of an observant Jew and Muslim both tend to escape demands of the law. However, law is not the perfect term to describe Halakha and Shari'a because they contain many precepts outside the jurisdiction of law as understood in the West especially on how to conduct ablution, what to eat and where to pray (Karlsson). These percepts contain provisions for every situation that may affect lives of a Muslim or a Jew including inheriting property in case of a death in the family (Karlsson). Among Jews, following every provision in the Halakhah implies that they are living a pre life in accordance to laws of Abraham (Karlsson). For Muslims, fulfilling laws stated in the Sharia’ allows them to live sanctity life like Muhammad besides numerous temptations of life. Besides, for both Muslims and Jews importance of the law in the physical aspect counts importantly to one’s spirit (Karlsson). In addition, their mingling with Muslim community led to similarities in the ways of life between the two groups (Karlsson). For instance, Jews and Muslims Synagogues as well as mosques’ services respectively appear as informal congregations that entail believers walking in and out without a specific routine. Besides, the absence of a supreme priest in charge implies that every individual can conduct personal prayers adding an element of chaotic nature within the places of worship (Karlsson). Women ought not to attend services though those who chose to attend must not interact with men but kept in a lesser visible section than men. References to God, to blessings and curses, and to ritual life mainly comprise of conversations among Jews and Muslims (Karlsson). In both religions, ritual purity requires ablutions after sexual relations, excretion, sleep, or eating (Karlsson). In both religions, believers use water to cleanse their feet and hands before entering the place of worship, which is a holy place (Karlsson). Work Cited Jobani, Y. (2008). Three basic models of secular Jewish culture. Israel Studies, 13(3), 160-169. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195267284?accountid=458 Karlsson, Ingmar. "Muslim Immigrants: A Bridge between Two Cultures?" Global Dialogue 9.3 (2007): 11-8. ProQuest. 24 October 2013. Reuven, Firestone. An Introduction to Islam for Jews. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2010. Print. Willitts, Joel. "Elements of Ancient Jewish Nationalism." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52.1 (2009): 129-32. ProQuest. 24 October 2013. Read More