Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

With regard to news of Caligula’s decision to erect a statue in the Temple,

Philo’s description is telling: the most grievous calamity fell unexpectedly

and brought peril not to one part of the Jewish people but to the entire na-

tion at once. The disaster was averted, thanks in part to a letter of the Jewish

prince Agrippa I, a friend of the emperor and recent recipient of a kingdom

among the Jews. Agrippa urgently alerted Caligula to the gravity of the situ-

ation. He made it clear that an affront to Jerusalem would have vast reper-

cussions: the Holy City was not merely the metropolis of Judea but of most

nations in the world since Jewish colonies thrived all over the Near East,

Asia Minor, Greece, Macedon, Africa, and the lands beyond the Euphrates.

The image of Jerusalem binding together Jews everywhere in the world re-

mained central in the self-perception of the Diaspora.

A moving passage elsewhere in Philo encapsulates this theme. Al-

though he thrived in the Diaspora, enjoyed its advantages, and broadcast

its virtues, Philo nevertheless found even deeper meaning in the land of Is-

rael. He interprets the Shavuot festival as a celebration of the Jews’ posses-

sion of their own land, a heritage now of long standing, and a means

whereby they could cease their wandering. Philo saw no inconsistency or

contradiction. Diaspora Jews might find fulfillment and reward in their

communities abroad. But they honored Judea as a refuge for those who

were once displaced and unsettled — and the prime legacy of all.

Josephus makes the point in a quite different context but with equal

force. In his rewriting of Numbers he places a sweeping prognostication in

the mouth of the Mesopotamian priest Balaam. The priest projects a glori-

ous future for the Israelites: they will not only occupy and hold forever the

land of Canaan, a chief signal of God’s favor, but their multitudes will fill

all the world, islands, and continents, outnumbering even the stars in the

heavens. That is a notable declaration. Palestine, as ever, merits a special

place. But the Diaspora, far from being a source of shame to be overcome,

represents a resplendent achievement.

The respect and awe one paid to the Holy Land stood in full harmony

with a commitment to the local community and allegiance to Gentile gov-

ernance. Diaspora Jews did not bewail their fate and pine away for the

homeland. Nor, by contrast, did they shrug off the homeland and reckon

the Book as surrogate for the Temple. Palestine mattered, and it mattered

in a territorial sense — but not as a required residence. Gifts to the Temple

and pilgrimages to Jerusalem announced simultaneously one’s devotion to

the symbolic heart of Judaism and a singular pride in the accomplish-

ments of the Diaspora.

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Judaism in the Diaspora

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:56 PM